Past History
by dees1
Summary: Metropolis 2012 - Lois wakes up to a world without Superman...Something has happened in history which has messed up the proper course of history. Jor-el sends her on a quantum leap style adventure to put things right...
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers: Starts after season 10... but will cover events through season 4-10 depending on how the story goes.

Plot: Metropolis 2012 - Lois wakes up to a world without Superman...Something has happened in history which has messed up the proper course of history. Jor-el sends her on a quantum leap style adventure to put things right...

A/N: This is my first attempt at a time travel fan-fic. I have trouble getting my head around time travel paradoxes etc...so please forgive any glaring inconsistencies.

Lois woke up, as she often did. She stretched over and felt out for Clark but he was not there. In the six months since they married, she had become accustomed to his vanishing at all times of the day and night. She knew when she took her vows that she would have to share him with world, something that never made her resentful. It made her proud.

Ever since Clark had turned into his alter ego Superman and come out of the shadows, life had been much easier for him and for other superheroes. The Vigilante Registration Act had been scrapped due to overwhelming public pressure.

She turned over in bed to go back to sleep but then realised that she heard something odd. She listened carefully and heard the blaring of horns and police sirens. If she hadn't have known any different she would have sworn she was in the middle of the city rather than on the peace and quiet of the Kent Farm.

She jumped out of bed to see what was going on and promptly tripped over the rug on the floor. There had never been a rug on the floor. Panicking she ran over to the window, and came face to face with doors leading on to a balcony. She went out, and noticed the skyline of Metropolis surrounding her.

"What the hell?" Lois started to hyperventilate. "I need to find Clark."

Suddenly she was enveloped in a bright light. She opened her eyes to find herself standing at the Fortress of Solitude.

"Jor-el, do you know what is happening?" Lois shouted at the structure.

"Lois, there has been a breach somewhere in time which has caused your present reality to change." The voice boomed. "I have been able to trace the cause but not when the breach occurred. Lana Lang somehow acquired the legion ring which took you into the future three years ago. She has gone back and changed something in the past."

"We need to talk to Clark. He is the only one who can confront her with her superpowers."

"That may prove difficult. In this reality Lana is married to Kal-el. She may not have powers if she changed events prior to putting on the suit."

Lois could not believe what she was hearing but then realised this was not her Clark. "That is obviously her motive for changing things. I have waited for her to come back at some point. So what can we do?"

"Can you try and get the ring back off her and bring it to the Fortress? I can keep it here and use it to send you back. If Lana keeps the ring, there is a chance that she will go back and change more things. " Jor-el replied.

"Send me back where?" Lois asked.

"Back to the time to change things back. Lana is aware of events which have changed but no one else is, so you have to be careful to act normally as though you do not know anything is amiss." Jor-el explained.

"Ok, I will see what I can find out. I just wish I had some idea what this new reality was like. Why have I not been affected by the change of events? I should not be able to remember how things used to be." She said, her head spinning trying to get her head around this time travel concept.

"When you married my son, I have shielded you from an event such as this, although I expected Brianiac to be the main threat. You are the main reason my son has become the man he is today and now you are the only one who can change his destiny back to how it should be."

Lois was transported back to her apartment where she needed to formulate a plan to get the legion ring back.

Lois got dressed and started looking through her apartment for any clues that would help her cope in this new alien world. She was relieved when she found no signs of a wedding ring or photos of her and another man in the apartment. It was hard enough to witness Clark married to someone else never mind having to play happy families with someone else.

Jor-el could only give her limited information, the rest she would have to work out on her own. She had managed to work out that she was still a reporter at the Daily Planet but was still in the basement working with Jeff as a partner. There were photos of her at work, and some with Chloe. Luckily the one with her cousin looked recent. She found her cell phone on the bedside table and flicked through the phone numbers. Chloe was number 1 on speed dial.

She waited until 7am and then dialled. "Hi Chloe..."

"Lois, what time do you call this? You have woken up Jimmy now and you know how grumpy he will be if he doesn't get his sleep."

"Can we meet for breakfast this morning? I need to talk."

"Ok, how about 8.30am at the coffee shop on Main Street." Chloe whispered.

"Ok, see you there." Lois said hanging up the phone and she hoped there was only one coffee shop on that street.

Chloe did not look much different, just a slightly changed hairstyle. She did look happy though, in fact maybe she would have done if Jimmy had survived. Oliver and she never quite worked out because ever since the day Chloe had put on Dr Fate's helmet, she had always had a more important purpose.

She would disappear out of Oliver's life for long periods of time. Ollie was besotted with her, but even Clark had commented last week about the growing closeness between him and Dinah. Who could blame him?  
"Hi Lois. You look rough! Did you not sleep? I bet you spent the night chasing a story. I always said you were married to your work."

"How is your job going?" Lois asked, hoping Chloe did have a job otherwise her cousin would soon be getting suspicious.

"It going well. Working with Oliver means two days are never the same." She smiled.

Lois wondered what she did for Oliver, but worked out it would something to do with computers.

"So how is it going at the Planet?" Chloe asked.

"I love journalism. After all the time I spent telling you I didn't want to be a journalist." Lois smiled.

"I know. I am convinced that you only went into journalism because Gabriel Grant told you that you would make a good reporter. I soon noticed that it was in your blood."

"So any gossip?"

Chloe smiled. "Just the usual, nothing ever changes in this town except the rising crime figures."

"It's getting bad isn't it?" Lois added to try and gain more information.

"It is even getting to the point where Oliver is reluctant to go out as Green Arrow because he thinks he will get killed. It is starting to affect the economy. No one will come near the city with business."

"Isn't it Lana birthday soon?" Lois asked out of the blue.

Chloe just glared at her. "Are you trying to be funny? There is no way I will ever talk to her again after what she has done to Clark."

"It was bad wasn't it?" Lois said, not knowing what she was talking about.

"You don't even know the full story." Chloe looked annoyed. "She trapped him, making him feel guilty every time he tries to leave the marriage. That farm is going under and she blames him for everything."

"Are things that bad at the farm?" Lois inquired.

"They are worse than bad but she won't even get a job to help them out. Lana would kill him if she found out that he had kept in touch with me all these years." Chloe smiled.

"Why don't I go and see if I can talk some sense into her." Lois replied.

"Yeah right...Lois, you have always been further down on Lana's popularity list than me. Clark has never forgiven you either for investigating him for your father."

"I never did that." Lois replied.

"I know you didn't, but the evidence was really stacked against you with that anonymous letter and all those photos of Clark found in your bag. I have always said that Lana planted them." Chloe announced.

"Why would my father want to spy on Clark anyway? Can you tell me the whole story again?"

"Isn't it obvious? Lana was convinced you knew Clark had powers. She found out through Clark had by getting him to save her after she fell off the bridge. I am still puzzled as to how she managed to fall over two sets of barriers. Anyway she was convinced you had found out and you were going to betray him to your father, putting him at risk from the US Security Dept. It still shocks me how the Kent's took her side and chucked you out on to the streets."

"Do you not think he will be over it by now? I mean how long ago wasn't it?" Lois asked, grasping at straws.

"As you tell me all the time May 14th 2005 was the date when you were chucked out because you always blame that as the day your life was screwed up." Chloe joked. "Are you ok this morning? It's like you have never been here before."

"Just tired, I guess."

So now Lois had a date, she needed to get the legion ring and head back in time to prevent Lana turning Clark and his family against her...

At lunchtime Lois decided to tell her boss that she was going out of town on a story and headed towards the farm. She did find it embarrassing when she needed to ask someone which car was hers. She looked at it, not entirely convinced it would make it on the hour's drive to Smallville.

Chloe had mentioned that Lana was out of town for a few days and that Clark had his mom and dad visiting. Lois was thrilled that she was going to see Jonathan again. He had obviously not died in this reality. She was horrified when Chloe mentioned that Lana had made Clark throw his parents off the farm so she could take it over. Apparently there was no love lost between Lana and his parents and that is why they visited when Lana was out of town.

In fact during her morning at the Planet, Lois had done a little investigation on events going on in the world. Some of the facts startled her. Lex and Lionel Luthor were still alive and were making a bid for the 2012 Presidential Elections. Rumour had it that it was the Luthor's who had driven Metropolis into the crime infested city it now was.

The thought of having Lex in charge of the country was terrifying. It mirrored a dream Clark had once had about the world plunging into World War 3 when Lex was in charge.

She pulled up the driveway of the farm. She was shocked by the scenes of ruin and dilapidation. The barn was covered in holes, the wood starting to rot and the house looked as though it had not been painted since she lived there.

She parked her car and went to knock on the door. Martha came to the door, but not the usual smiling and happy woman that Lois was used to. Somewhere along the way she had lost her usual sparkle and 'mom' look as Lois liked to call it.

"Lois, what a surprise!" Martha hugged her. Lois breathed a sigh of relief as she did not expect a cordial welcome. "It has been years since we last saw you. How have you been?"

"Fine, how about you?"

"You know..." Martha replied flatly. "Come in...Lana is away for a few days so it should be fine to stay for a while." She seemed scared of Lana.

Lois sat down and had a cup of coffee. "So how are you really? Something tells me that things are not great."

Martha placed her hand on Lois's. "Lois, I need to apologise for kicking you out of the house that day. We should never have chosen to believe Lana over you. We know she set you up because she was jealous of your friendship with Clark."

"Do you not get on with Lana?" Lois asked.

"No, not after the way she has treated our son and kicked us out of the farm. I think Clark even hates her now, and that can't be healthy for Christopher. We keep telling Clark to get out but he knows he cannot leave."

"I don't understand, why can't he just leave?"

"Lana threatens Clark with the fact he will not see his son again."

The colour drained from her face. Clark and Lana had a baby and that is why he would not leave. "How old is Christopher now?"

"He will be six in March." Martha said proudly.

Suddenly Clark and his dad came through the door laughing and joking. Lois noticed the cute dark haired child sitting on Clark's shoulders. He ducked so Chris would not hit his head on the door frame.

"Almost hit my head, daddy." Chris giggled at his dad. "Can I go and play on my computer please."

"Ok." Clark replied, tickling his son as he put him down, and then suddenly noticed the familiar person sitting at the table. He looked at her with a horrified expression. "What are you doing here?" he said with venom in his voice.

"Clark, Lois just came by to see how we were doing?" Martha defended her.

He waited until Chris was out of earshot. "I told you never to come here again. I will be in the barn until she is gone." He walked out of the door.

Lois knew this would not be easy but she needed to find the legion ring. "I need to go and see him."

Lois followed him into the barn and climbed up the stairs to the loft. "Clark, we need to talk." She said.

He gave her an intense stare. "No we don't..." he marched up to her, making her back away in fear of what he would do.

Soon she was up against the railing, she could not go back any further so waited for him to do what he was about to do. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Suddenly she felt his lips on hers. Automatically she reciprocated, deepening the kiss. Within seconds she could feel his hands undoing her blouse.

She pulled away from him, realising what was going to happen. "What is going on?"

His face was full of emotion. "I am sorry Lo but this is the only way I could get sometime alone with you. I know I have been promising to spend more time with you but if she finds out, she will take Chris away from me."

Lois realised what Clark was saying. They were having an affair...


	2. Chapter 2

"Clark, we can't. Your mom or dad, or even worse Chris could catch us." Lois pushed him away gently.

"How long have we been having this affair?" Lois asked in a rhetorical manner so he would not get suspicious.

"Almost 3 years I believe and I know I have been promising you that long that I will leave Lana. I have to put Chris first, Lo and I need to see him."

Lois smiled. "I understand that." She hugged him. "But this is not good for Chris either. He must see you and Lana fighting on a daily basis."

"We try not to argue in front of him but we are always not successful. Last week Lana said I regretted Chris being born and she knew he was listening from the top of the stairs. I know Lana tricked me into getting her pregnant but even when I found out, it did not affect my love for my son. Nothing ever would."

"Can you not fight for him?" Lois asked. "Tell a court what you are telling me. They will see her for what she is."

"Lois, as you know she is having an affair with Lex and he has access to all the judges in the city. He would bribe them so she would get full custody of him. She is pregnant again and is trying to convince me the baby is mine, when we have not slept together for years."

"And she thinks you will fall for that one?" Lois asked shocked.

"She claims I was under the influence of Red k one night and she fell pregnant. I always remember what I have done on Red K, so I know she is lying."

Lois realised that Clark had told her about his powers. "So why don't you use your powers to take Chris away from all this."

"What powers?" Lana insists I inject myself with blue kryptonite every week, just enough to negate my powers. She has always been threatened by the fact I used to be more powerful than her. I only went along with it because of her threats."

"So has Chris got your abilities?"

"No, he was conceived just after the second meteor shower when I had lost my powers so my Kryptonian DNA was not passed on to him. I think she would have given him up for adoption if he had shown any evidence of powers." Clark explained.

"Can I stay a bit longer at the Farm? I miss your parents." Lois begged.

"Ok, we'll tell them we have come to an understanding. Lana will not come within a mile of the farm if they are here. Stay for dinner. Mom always cooks some lovely food when she comes to visit."

"Come here." He smiled. "I have missed you." She approached him and he pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you so much." There were tears in his eyes.

Seeing him like that made Lois even more determined to find the Legion Ring and change things back to how they were. "I love you too." She kissed him before they headed back into the house.

Clark looked sheepish as he entered the house. "We have called a ceasefire. Lois is going to stay for dinner. She wants to catch up with you both. I will just go and see Chris is ok."

"I am glad you have put your differences to one side." Martha said.

Jonathan approached and gave her a hug. "It is nice to have you back, Lois. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Thanks Jonathan." She held onto him a little tighter not realising until now how much she actually missed him. "It means so much to hear you say that."

Martha had soon cooked up a storm. Chris was tucking in to his dinner. "Don't tell mommy but I like your food better than the food she makes in the microwave."

"I have never seen him eat this well." Clark smiled as he ruffled his son's hair.

Lois watched their exchange and it made her heart skip a beat. She had always known Clark would make a good father and hoped when everything was put back to normal that they could try for a baby.

"Well you wouldn't like my cooking. I cannot cook at all." Lois added.

Chris laughed. "you would like my mom." He smiled.

Lois did not answer and just smiled at him.

After dinner, Martha took Chris up to bath him whilst Jonathan sorted out a bedtime story, leaving Clark and Lois to do the dishes.

"Lois, there is something I need to ask you. Are you seeing Oliver? I know I have no right to be jealous but I need to know. Apparently he is constantly chasing you."

Lois did not know the answer but it is not the sort of thing she would do. "No, I am not."

"I'm glad. I know that is selfish, but I cannot help myself when I am around you. I wish I had never believed Lana about that letter. I know now that she wrote it and put those photos in your bag. One thing I could never work out is how she tricked me into revealing my powers. How did she find out in the first place?"

Lois guessed future Lana must have found helped her find out.

"If you could go back and change things, would you? Even if it meant Chris had never been born." Lois inquired.

Clark took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah I would because I know Chris is suffering and I cannot bear to see it."

Lois hugged him. "Clark, I did not mean to drink so much wine over dinner so would you mind if I crashed on the sofa."

He smiled. "You'll have to take the sofa."

She rolled up her sleeves to start washing up. Clark immediately noticed the bracelet. "Lois, how did you get that bracelet?" He demanded to know. "That is Kryptonian. Jor-el sent you, didn't he?" a hint of anger evident in his voice...

Lois looked shocked. "What makes you say that Jor-el sent me?"

"I have not seen my father in years, in fact I know that the bracelet was kept at the Fortress before it was destroyed so how does that explain that you are wearing it."

"The Fortress was destroyed, When? How?" Lois asked in a panic.

"Lana destroyed my connection with the Fortress years ago so I could not get in contact with my father The structure is still there but it does not work." Clark explained.

"Ok, I will tell you the truth, can we go for a walk please?" Lois asked him.

Clark told his parents they were going over to the barn for a chat. He sat down and asked Lois to join him. "Ok, I'm listening."

"Right...I don't know how to explain this but I am not your Lois. I woke up this morning and the whole world had changed. My reality is nothing like this place."

"So how are you here?"

"When I married the other Clark, Jor-el promised to protect me from any attempts to change time so he made me immune to any changes in the timeline. It is all a little complicated for me to understand."

"Wait a minute, we are married in your world." Clark asked, not even questioning her unbelievable admission.

"Yes."

"How did he manage to escape from Lana?"

"He broke up with Lana years ago and we fell in love. There is no Chris. Somehow the Lana from my world travelled back in time and planted the photos in my bag – the ones you found seven years ago making you throw me out. That was enough to alter my reality."

"So is the Lana I am married to now, the one from your reality."

"I assume so but I don't know for sure. I am not into this time travel stuff. Jor-el said he would explain things to me when I get back to the Fortress."

"So what do you need to do?"

"I need to get something called a Legion Ring from Lana. It helped her travel back originally." Lois explained. "I need to go back to before the timeline was altered and make sure she cannot tamper with history."

"This means when you do, I won't exist."

"No you won't but you are you, no matter what timeline you are in. This must be a lot for you to take in."

"It is." Clark replied. "But I will do anything I can to help you get this ring. What does it look like?"

"It is a large gold signet ring with a symbol carved in."

"I do remember seeing that but Lana keeps all her stuff in a safe in the bedroom. She will not let me near things, saying they are family heirlooms which may get damaged if Chris gets his hands on them." Clark explained.

"She may have left it, we can break in the safe and get it back." He continued.

Clark picked up a wrench and marched over to the house. He pulled the picture off the wall that was covering it. Within a few minutes he had managed to force the door off.

He looked in and pulled out a bundle of papers and a small box. Scanning through the papers, a letter head with the Luthor Crest caught his eye. He opened it up and what he read ripped out his heart.

_To dearest Lex,  
Clark has fallen for it and believes I am carrying his child. I promise never to bring up this matter again. Thank you for your generous money gift which should come in useful when our son is born.  
Love  
Lana x_

Even though Clark knew the baby she was carrying was not his, it still upset him to have confirmation that she had become pregnant by Lex. He showed it to Lois.

"Looks like she is pregnant with Lex's child after all." He announced.

Lois studied the note. "Clark, this letter is dated the 29th October 2005."

It hit him like a sledgehammer. "Oh my god, Chris is not mine either. No wonder he does not have my powers. Lana has lied to me since the start." He sunk onto the bed, his head in his hands.

She ran her fingers through his hair. "I am so sorry you found out like this."

He looked up, the devastation evident in his expression. "Please go back and change things. I don't want to live like this anymore."

He grabbed the box and opened it, revealing the Legion Ring. He stood up and handed the box to her. "Remember, I love you, Lois, whatever timeline you are from."

She kissed him hard. "I love you too."

"I knew something was going on." They heard a voice from behind them. It was Lana. Clark looked down and noticed the shotgun in her hand.

"This is not going to go on for any longer." Lana shrieked.

She held the gun up and pointed it at Lois. Before she could fire, Clark stepped to block the bullet's path, taking it point blank in his stomach. He collapsed in a heap on the floor, a pool of red already forming around him. Lois sank to her knees to try and help him.

Instead of dropping the gun, Lana just recomposed herself and aimed the gun at Lois. Before she could pull the trigger, she heard a loud bang from behind Lana and saw her face twist all contorted before she too fell to the floor. Behind him, Jonathan stood in shock with a gun.

Lois panicked. "Jonathan, I promise to fix this." She pressed the button on her bracelet and within seconds was back in the safety of the Fortress...

"We have a problem, Jor-el." Lois shouted as soon as she arrived in the structure. "Lana and Clark are dead." She was still in shock from the sight of him lying in a pool of blood but she knew she had to put that to the back of her mind.

"The fact that Lana is dead makes her coming back through time after you impossible. So all you need to do is go back in time and change things."

"I don't understand. If Lana is dead, she cannot travel back and change things in the first place so shouldn't everything go back to how they were." Lois asked, puzzled.

"Lana has already travelled back, resulting in this new altered reality. It now appears that she never came back to the future with the ring and just stayed in the past so she could make sure things went the way she wanted."

"When I do go back, will there be another Lois?"

"No, you will take her over her body." Jor-el explained. "If you place the ring in the console, I will be able to control your movements through time and I will bring you back when things are back to how they should be. Your bracelet will notify me if you need to be brought back, but it is important that you achieve your mission before coming back. If, for any reason the bracelet feels, it contains a backup plan. Connect it to any computer."

"Can you remove the Kryptonian symbol from the bracelet?" Lois asked. "Clark may get suspicious if he sees it."

A beam of light shot out of the console and erased the symbol.

Lois placed the ring in the console. "Can I go now? I need to see Clark alive."

"Remember to not change anything else or it could affect the reality you come back to. You need to act as if you were Lois 7 years ago. When you leave, the old Lois will have no recollection that anything has changed and everything will seem normal to her, even if events change" Jor-el explained.

"When are you sending me back to?"

"Just after you met my son." Jor-el announced

"Do you have any idea when Lana appeared?"

"About two weeks after you get there. You need to ensure that Lana does not chase the old Lois out of Clark's life."

Lois stood still waiting to be transported back to 2005. A bright light surrounded her, she felt a bit fuzzy and then heard a familiar voice.

"Um... we usually take turns in the bathroom." Clark had grabbed the curtain and was nervously peeking around the corner of it.

Lois paused a second but then kicked into her full teasing mode. "Oh, don't start with me, Smallville. You're the one taking the marathon shower. Besides, my delicate feminine sensibilities weren't offended the first time I got a glimpse of, uh, Clark Junior."

She thought of all the showers they had taken together since they became a couple.

This Clark was a cute and naive as she remembered. "My parents kind of missed the whole Woodstock phase. Besides, they freaked out the last time they caught me in a co-ed situation."

Lois smiled at his attempt to impress her. " Last time? So the eagle scout does have a few secrets in the closet. "

" Just forget it, all right? That's my shirt."

" It's the only thing I could find that was clean and I have always loved wearing it."

His face said it all. "You mean you have worn it before."

Lois had completely dropped herself in it. "Just a few times!"

There was a knock on the door. Clark jumped out, grabbed a towel and opened the door.

"Mom." He said nervously hiding the fact that Lois was in the same room. Meanwhile Lois was trying to refrain from tickling him.

Martha looked at him, smiling. " Hi."

"You're home."

" Hi, Mrs. Kent."

They were marched like a pair of guilty children down to the kitchen

Lois was enjoying this blast from the past. "I don't understand what the big deal is here. We just took a shower."

Clark glared at her. "Showers. We took separate showers."

"At noon?" Martha replied.

"We were just..." Lois started

Clark interrupted. " We went to Chloe's safe house. These guys showed up and chased us into a field, and there was all this dirt."

Jonathan was annoyed. "Clark, that is a federal crime scene. And the last thing that we want is for you two kids to get involved with the FBI."

Lois smiled "Whoever it was, we don't need to worry 'cause their chopper is face first in the middle of the field. I am going to leave you to your family discussion."

Lois went to Clark's room and thought back to remember what happened next and then it struck her. Lana was about to return after her summer away and she was going to come to the farm and talk to Clark. Lois just hoped that the old Lois had not just eaten as she was going to have trouble controlling the contents of her stomach watching the pining-fest from Clark when his ex-girlfriend appeared.

Lana appeared as per clockwork. Suddenly Lois remembered that she was supposed to have met Lana at the cemetery half an hour ago when Lana saved her from Trent. At least time had not been screwed up with her mistake.

This time travel was not easy as it was made out in the movies...


	3. Chapter 3

" Lana. You're back." Lois looked at Lana. She was very pretty, pity about the charisma bypass. She chastised herself for being *****y.

" Hi, Clark." Lana gave him that girly smile he usually fell for. She noticed Lana looking at her

Clark realised his rudeness. "Lana, this is Lois Lane...Chloe's cousin. We think she is still alive and we need to find her."

Lana moved closer to Clark. "Look, if you really think that Chloe's alive, I want to help find her." Lois was not impressed with her attempts to play with Clark's feelings.

Clark was so smitten."Uh, Lana... Look, I don't want to get your hopes up, but we don't know anything for sure."

Clark changed the subject "You're back from Paris. You must've found what you were looking for."

"I'll say! Who wouldn't want a hot passionate fling in the most romantic city on Earth? Bet you came back with some hunk in tow" Lois could not remember her exact words she had come out with all those years ago.

Lana looked uncomfortable. "I was going to tell you."

" It's okay." Clark said, but obviously he was seething in jealousy.

"Oh, I am so sorry. I did not know you used to date. I never would have guessed." Lois replied sarcastically.

" We never..." Clark added.

"Not really." Lana interrupted.

Clark finished the sentence. " ...had a thing." Lois could feel the pit of her stomach starting to stir.

" It's complicated." Lana and Clark replied, looking at each other. Lana excused herself.

"You're not kidding." Lois said under her breath, forgetting Clark had super hearing.

He turned to her after Lana had left. "What did you say back there?"

Lois shook her head. "Smallville, you are hearing things."

Lois decided to get this investigation into Chloe's disappearance kick started so she could at the very least get Clark's mind off Lana. "Listen, it turns out Luthorcorp paid for Chloe's funeral. Why would they do that? It doesn't make any sense"

She had lost Clark. He was deep in thought. She sighed and just wanted to run up to him and kiss him senseless so he would forget about Lana. But then she reminded herself that he had no feelings for her at this time, only ones of annoyance.

"Wow, she didn't take any prisoners, did she? Lana? I admit she is pretty but she was not exactly first in the queue when the personalities were dished out." Lois replied. She could not help herself.

"Lois, you know nothing about Lana. If you insult her, you insult me. You're really not the person I want to talk to about this. " he stormed off.

" Suit yourself." She replied realising she was going to have to rein in her sarcastic comments.

"I just didn't expect she would be dating someone else so soon."

Lois smiled. "Smallville, you will end up with someone else who will make you happier."

Clark looked at her. "Well, as long as it is not someone like you." He laughed. She told herself to stop being stupid but she had to admit that comment hurt.

They were interrupted by the arrival of her father. Lois sighed not in the mood for any of his lectures.

"Hi daddy." She said.

Clark seemed happy when he found out that Lois would be leaving soon, but less impressed when he found out that Sam was staying for dinner. Sam Lane was the one of the few people who Clark felt threatened by, although Sam admitted at their wedding years later how fond he was of Clark.

Lois walked in on Clark arguing with his parents. "You didn't seriously invite him to dinner."

" Clark, Mr. Lane is a three-star general. I think he deserves a little respect." His dad replied sternly.

Sam entered the room. "This is some place you got here Mr. and Mrs. Kent. And again I'd like to thank you for keeping an eye on my little Lo."

Sam opened a box and showed Clark's dad the content. ""Can I offer you a Chavelo? Hand rolled with some of the finest tobacco in the U.S. of A."

Jonathan smiled and shook his head. "No, I, uh... My heart isn't exactly what it used to be."  
Lois felt a stab of sadness in her heart at that comment realising how prophetic those words would turn out to be less than 18 months later.

Sam smiled back. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check on your hospitality, Mrs. Kent. I have to be back at Fort Ryan."

Martha looked at him. "You're welcome any time."

" Thank you. Let's double-time it, Lo." Sam ordered in his gruff voice.

"Dad I am not a 12 year old anymore, can you treat me like your daughter rather than one of your troops."

Sam glared at her. "When you act more like an adult...young lady, I will start to treat you like one."

Lois bit her tongue and ran up to hug Clark.

Lois held onto him tightly. " This is about Chloe. Clark, find the connection to LuthorCorp." Suddenly she caught a whiff of his cologne. It was one he still used and it was starting to make her get carried away and without thinking she let out a little moan.

Clark pulled away and gave her a puzzled look as she was dragged out the door by her father.

Later than night, Lois headed to her dad's office knowing Clark would be there in a few minutes. She acted surprised when he arrived.

Clark was edgy as he usually was when she first met him but he had managed to get rid of his lack of confidence over the years on his journey to becoming Superman. "Considering your father has a yard full of tanks out there, I don't think you should be in his office rifling through his files"

"I gotta say I'm impressed, Smallville, that you could sneak on a military base undetected. What are you doing here?"

" I'm looking for you. I think your father's working with Lex Luthor. I saw one of his cigars in his library."

" I knew it. You're right. What do you know? My dad and Lex Luthor."

" They're trying to cover up something to do with Chloe, and if he finds us here."

" I can handle him, Clark."

Clark said. "I could see that by the way you spoke to him at our house earlier."

"He is a good man really, just misguided at times. I guess when he lost my mom, he kind of cracked, and... ever since, he's been scared of losing me too. I can actually talk about it. She died when I was six."

Clark looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry."  
" Thanks, she was an amazing woman." Lois replied. Her opinion of her mom had changed years later when she had found the videos she had left for her.

" There is an address in this diary." Clark noticed.

Lois turned around to let him speed off and rescue Chloe.

Lois went to bed after celebrating the return of Chloe for the second time and soon fell asleep, looking forward to see Clark's reaction to her extended stay in Smallville in the morning.

Her dreams soon turned to the man in question, and she dreamt he had climbed into bed next to her, and started nibbling at her ear. She gave in without a fight as she usually did. She was starting to miss the intimacy she had with her husband.

Next morning she saw his face drop when her dad announced. "Not to worry, though. I'm sure that Clark will be happy to show you around."

Clark gulped "Around where?"

"Bright and early tomorrow morning, you start Smallville High."

"Great." She tried to sound disappointed.

Clark avoided her for the rest of the day so she went to catch up with Chloe as she had years ago. Her cousin was giving her an hour's lecture in what to expect in an average day at Smallville High. Lois wanted to tell her she already knew but couldn't.

That night, her dreams were becoming more vivid. It was pretty obvious she was acting out her fantasies as on this particular night she woke up covered in sweat and had obviously being moving about a lot by the state of her bedding.

Next morning she went down to breakfast, and the strangest thing happened. As soon as Clark saw her he went bright red and bashful looking. Lois wondered what had made him react in such a way and she started to wonder if she had been making noises whilst she had been acting out her dreams.

There was something going on because for the next hour, there were muttered discussions between Clark and his parents when she was out of earshot. One time she noticed Jonathan kept looking at the ceiling. When they were out of the room, Lois noticed a small piece of plasterboard covering up an area directly above the sofa.

She had worked it out. Clark had obviously heard her and was maybe even spying on her, making his heat vision shoot off unexpectedly. He had told her that he often had trouble controlling this power when he was younger.

Lois realised she needed to stop herself having these dreams and there was only one way. She knew from experience when Clark was away that she needed a distraction to stop these dreams – it was the only thing that worked.

She bunked off first lesson that morning and drove into Metropolis. She pulled up in her usual spot, although it would not be her usual spot until six years later. The Adult Toy Company had not changed much over the years. She got out the car. Seven years ago she would have been horrified visiting a place like this but in her reality her and Clark regularly visited together.

Lois headed to the part of the shop to get the item she needed, and then headed back to the farm. She knew that Martha and Jonathan were going out for the morning and Clark was at school. This was changing history but as long as she was back in place at the plastic surgery clinic in time for Clark to rescue her, and of course she needed to dunk him that afternoon.

What she hadn't banked on was that Clark would become concerned by her missing from school and he headed back to the farm during recess. He entered the house and heard noise from his bedroom. He suddenly heard a very loud moan coming from upstairs and sped up thinking Lois was in danger, throwing the door open.

Lois had not even heard Clark come in the house. She was too busy to notice anything. Next thing she knew, someone said. "Lois, what are you doing?"

She was not concentrating and without thinking, she replied. "What do you think, Smallville? Do you want to join me?"

Then suddenly the realisation of what she had done hit her. Her eyes flung open. There in front of her was a 17 year old Clark, with a strange look on his face. She had expected to see an embarrassed Clark running out the door as fast as he could. But instead of running, he was starting to climb on the bottom of the bed, his eyes never breaking contact with hers.

Lois panicked. Her head knew she had to stop him but her heart was screaming the complete opposite. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. She pulled the covers up. "Smallville, some privacy please."

Clark was jolted out of his trance, the horror evident on his face. "I am so sorry." He turned and walked away out of the door.

"Oh great, what have I done..." Lois thought out aloud.

Lois ran after him but he had completely disappeared. What the hell had she done that for, she asked herself. She decided to head for school to see if she could find him there.

Chloe was in the canteen eating her lunch with Lana, when Lois arrived. "Have you seen Clark?" she asked trying not to sound too anxious to find him.

"No, I haven't." Chloe replied. "Where have you been? The Principal was looking for you. I told him you had a dentist appointment."

Lois smiled. "Thanks for covering, Chloe. I just had some business to take care of."

Clark suddenly entered the room. He smiled at Chloe and Lana, and went to sit with Jason and some of the other jocks.

"There he is." Chloe smiled. Lois took a deep breath and headed over to the table.

"Clark, can we have a word."

Clark did not even look up. "Lois, can you not see I am having lunch with the guys, no girls allowed." This comment made the other guys laugh, albeit uncomfortably.

Lois looked upset and walked off.  
They were both in the same class that afternoon so she made sure they sat together.

"I will move." Clark said in response. As he got up, she grabbed his hand, pulling him back down into his seat.

"Look Smallville. I am sorry that you walked in on me before. I was a bit preoccupied and didn't mean to say what I said." She said as gently as possible.

His face changed. "I am sorry too for acting the way I did. I have had a lot on my mind at the moment and I miss having someone to be close too."

Lois felt so sorry for him and wanted to tell him that he would not be alone forever. Her Clark often told her how lonely he felt during his teenage years and was relieved when Chloe knew his secret as he had someone to talk to.

"It's ok...do you want to go for a drink at the Talon after the sports fun session. I am a good listener." Lois added.

Clark looked at her. "Okay, that would be nice. I feel as though I know you quite well now." He joked.

She playfully punched him on the shoulder. Lois decided not to go to the plastic surgery clinic to catch Dr Fine after all. Instead she rang the police and gave them an anonymous tip off. It wouldn't change history.

On the last period of the day everyone changed into their sports gear. The famous dunk tank was the highlight of the day. Lois felt overwhelming pressure when she took aim to dunk Clark, but her determination to see him in a white wet t-shirt won over and soon she was two for two.

Clark beamed at her with that amazing smile he often gave her in her reality. However this time Lois caught the look of intense jealousy on Chloe's face that she has been able to connect with Clark.

Clark and Lois headed to the Talon. Chloe decided to stay back at the Torch to work on a deadline. The Talon was buzzing with the news of the arrest of Dr Fine and her connection with some of the girls and Smallville High.

Unforntunately Lana was there, serving coffee. She kept coming over with any excuse to talk to Clark, making Lois very annoyed. She was with Jason now, so why did she have to toy with Clark at every opportunity.

"What is her problem?" Lois said as Lana headed back to the counter again. "If I did not know any better, I would say she is trying to get you back." She soon wished she hadn't because on finishing that sentence Clark had immediately sat up in his chair with interest.

"Do you really think so?" he asked hopefully.

"Clark, she is dating someone else." Lois pointed out.

He looked dejected. "I guess you're right. So changing the subject, why did you bunk off school this morning?"

"I think you know why?" Lois said, slightly embarrassed at the question.

Clark looked at her and laughed. "I am sure you did not just stay off for just for that." and then realised by the look on the face that she had.

"Could that not wait until later. Are you a nympho or something?" He said boldly.

Lois was shocked. She could not believe he had come out with such a daring remark. She had always thought that a young Clark was a prudish Clark. She could not help herself. "Ok, I'll tell you if you keep it a secret. I am not usually like that but I have been having these dreams for days and I thought it would help me stop them."

He looked at her and laughed. "Is that why you have been moaning and groaning the past few nights?"

"I knew you had heard me. Is that why you were bright red the other morning? Did I embarrass you?" she joked.

"No, not quite." He said, going red again.

Lois could not help herself, talking to Clark about this subject seemed as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Oh I see Smallville, getting turned on, were we?" She asked.  
He just looked at her with the same look he had on his face earlier that day. "Hell yeah...I just wish it was me you were dreaming about." He said, and then backtracked. "Of course I am joking!"

Lois looked at him...the sexual tension was being ratcheted up a notch with every word. She wanted Clark, whichever year she was in. "Can we go somewhere private?"

He grabbed her hand and took out the fire exit without anyone noticing them. They were stood in the small alcove by the door in the back alley. Clark's eyes were fixed on her lips and they were slowly moving towards hers.

"Would you mind telling me what you are doing with my girlfriend?" a voice said from behind them, instantly breaking the moment between them.

Lois turned around and almost passed out with shock.


	4. Chapter 4

"Girlfriend?" Clark asked horrified by the interruption. He looked at Lois for an explanation.

The young man extended his hand. "Sorry Lois is being very rude. I am Emil Hamiton. I am a doctor at Smallville Hospital. We have actually already met, after your bout of amnesia a few days ago. Lois and I got talking and the rest is history."

Emil looked at Lois. "Lo, I just came looking for you as you said you would meet me for coffee at the hospital, but I guess you got held up." He winked at her to play along.

"Emil..." she walked over and kissed him on the cheek. "I am sorry but you will kill me. We had some vodka and I think the drink just got the better of us." Lois looked at Clark to back her up.

Clark, still in shock. Smiled. "I am sorry about what you saw. Don't worry there is nothing going on between Lois and I. Anyway I need to get back to the farm. Nice to meet you, Emil." He walked off quickly down the alley before speeding home.

As soon as Lois was sure that Clark was out of ear shot, she stared at Emil. "Do I know you?" she asked, knowing full well that they never met until a few years ago when Clark was missing.

"I hope so. We are close friends. Remember all the nights we have spent together at Monster Truck Rallies. Jor-el sent me back to make sure everything goes to plan."

Lois was annoyed. "You mean he did not trust me."

"No, he doesn't Lois, not when it comes to you and Clark. He knew the pull between you two would be difficult to resist." Emil explained.

"So how did he get you to believe that history has changed."

"He didn't have to. He has always made me immune to any changes in time like you. I am the back up plan. Everything altered for me too when Lana went back. I woke up without a wife."

"Could be a good thing!" Lois teased. "Anyway it will be nice having someone to talk to, other than myself. But i don't think this girlfriend-boyfriend is going to work."

Emil smiled. "Lois , you and I have developed a close friendship over the past two years. We know each other so well so it won't be too difficult to convince people we are dating."

"But why do we need to date? You are not my type in that way."

"After what I have just witnessed you need a distraction from Clark. What if I had not turned up when I did, where would you be now?"

"Probably making out at Clark's place." Lois laughed.

"Luckily I was a doctor in Smallville anyway doing my internship so it will not be a problem to stick in town. I want my life back too."

"You miss her too, don't you." Lois smiled.

"Yeah more than anything. I have not told anyone this but we were expecting a child." Emil seemed upset.

"Well, let's get things back to how they should be."

"I think we need to have a chat about what is supposed to happen in this timeline." Emil replied.

"Good idea. You can take me to dinner in Metropolis tonight. Just let me pop back and get changed. Pick me up at seven."

"I will make it eight. I know what you are like."

Lois drove back to the farm, not looking forward to seeing Clark for the first time since their almost kiss.

He was in the barn so she crept into the house. Martha was making dinner.

"Martha, I hope you don't mind but I won't be in tonight. I have a date."

"A date?" she replied surprised.

"yeah, I am seeing a doctor from the hospital."

"You don't want to take Clark with you, do you?" his mom joked. "He came back so upset a while back but won't talk about it. I hate to ask but could you go and have a word with him. I don't know why but he seems to open up with you."

Lois was going to refuse but saw the worry in Martha's face, So she headed over to clear the air.

Clark was fixing the tractor, as he usually did when he wanted to keep his mind off something.

"Clark, can we talk?" Lois asked.

He did not look at her, just got on with the repair. "What about?"

"About us?"

"There is no us. I am still in love with Lana and you have a rich boyfriend. What more is there to talk about?"

"About what happened?"

He looked at her, his eyes showing his hurt and anger. "Look Lois, I am physically attracted to you and I think you are to me, but we both know it cannot go anywhere."

Lois was taken aback by his brutal honesty. "Clark, we can't."

Clark walked towards her. "I know that, but before you leave, can I kiss you, just once."

Lois was going to turn and walk away but found herself approaching him. She got within a foot of him and then felt his hands cup her chin, lifting her lips towards his.

The moment their lips met, the passion took over. Clark's hands were touching any piece of bare skin they could find, including under her shirt. She needed him more than anything, devouring his mouth with her own. She closed her eyes and imagined she was back in her own time.

He lifted her and placed her on a bale of hay, so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He carried her up the stairs to the sofa and laid her down gently before positioning himself on top of her. One by one he started to undo her buttons and she soon had his tee travelling over his head.

"Lois and Clark, who would have thought?" A familiar voice rang out in the loft.

"Alicia?" Clark replied in shock, climbing off Lois to confront her. Lois just took one look at her, fastened her blouse up quickly and left the barn...

What the hell was Alicia doing back? It was way too soon. How was history changing already?

It took her a while to work it out. Clark never knew how long she had been released from Belle Reve before she turned up in the barn and she could have spent weeks spying on him. This complicated matters. Lois he hoped she would be out of Smallville long before Alicia turned up as she did not want to be around when Tim Westcott decided to kill her. Lois knew she could stop it happening but it was part of history and it should not be changed.

I mean if she was going to be stop her being killed, she should also try to prevent the death of Jonathan. She had thought about it, but she knew it was wrong, much like making out with Clark was wrong.

She headed to the house to get ready. Clark would be back soon and his parents were out. She suddenly heard cries from Alicia, she ran out of the barn in tears. Clark had obviously told her that he was not interested. She then saw a determined looking Clark heading towards the house.

"Lois, are you ok?" He asked concerned.

"I'm fine. Look Clark I have to go and get ready. Emil is collecting me at eight."

Clark tried not to look jealous. "I told Alicia I was not interested. I need to forget about my love life. It all gets too complicated, so shall we just start again with our friendship."

"What friendship?" she started to relax and laugh. "We don't even like each other."

"I do like you, Lois. You just annoy me sometimes." He replied. "I will leave you to get ready. Have a good night!"

"I will."

Emil arrived on time. By that time Martha and Jonathan had arrived home. Emil knocked on the door.

"Hello, I am Emil Hamiton. I have come to take Lois on a date. You must be Mr and Mrs Kent."

"Oh, I remember you. We talked at the hospital when our son lost his memory. Come in, she is still getting ready." Martha laughed.

"That is a surprise. Lois would keep the US President waiting."

"Do you want a coffee?" Martha asked.

"Ok, might as well...thanks!" he smiled.

"So where are you off to?"

"Just to Lau's Chinese Restaurant in Granville. It is getting too late to drive to Metropolis now" He remarked. "They do some nice food there."

Lois finally came down and they headed out of the door, just as Lana passed them.

"Hi Lois. Off anywhere nice?"

"Yeah, on a date." Lois replied, now wishing she could stay back to find out what she wanted.

"Is Clark here?" Lana smiled at Martha.

Emil and Lois headed off. She would have to ask Clark later what Lana was visiting for.

"Will Lana have the power-suit on when she arrives?" Lois asked Emil on the drive to Granville.

"No, because she is jumping into Lana's body, not exchanging positions with her. Jor-el has recalculated that she will be arriving in the next few days."

"That does not give us long." Lois panicked. "I think she will make a major play for Clark as soon as she arrives."

"Probably, but in some ways we need to allow that to happen to a point so she does not suspicious of us. We just have to make sure that Clark does not jump headlong into a full-on relationship." Emil explained. "She could play the pregnancy card and if she wanted to, trap him as she did in the alternate reality."

"Jor-el thinks there is a chance that we can send her back to her future before she can change anything. That would be the safer option because then less can go wrong with history because we would not have to hang around in this time so long. To do this we need get her to go to the Fortress in this time."

"Problem is the Fortress is not built yet." Lois added.

"Yes that is true but I think I can manipulate the console in the Kawatche Caves to have the same effect as the Fortress. We need to ensure that as little as possible changes. I will work on the Caves and you need to stop Lana from sleeping with Clark." He explained bluntly.

"The way his Kryptonian hormones are the moment, that may prove difficult. He tried to seduce me again." Lois smiled, not wanting to elaborate that she was a more than willing participant.

"I bet you put up such a fight." Emil laughed. "We also have to create a story for me as future Lana will recognise me and wonder how we know each other so we need to stick with our story."

"Ok, so where was Tess in the altered reality?"

"She was one of Lex's minions. She had still not discovered that she was a Luthor. She was not the real Tess that I fell in love with."

"That one took us all by surprise. Last thing we expected at our bachelorette party was for you two to end up married. Guess the atmosphere of Vegas and Zatanna's magic spells have that effect on you."

"I know it was mad, but we have never looked back since." Emil smiled, thinking of how happy he had been since Tess and he hooked up.

Lois spent time over the dinner telling Emil about the nightmare reality she had faced and that Lana and Clark had died.

At eleven they headed back to the Farm, Emil walked her to the door. Lois noticed that Clark was watching so they put their pre-planned kiss into action. The moving curtains soon closed. Obviously he had seen enough.

"So I will see you at the hospital tomorrow at 4pm." Lois kissed him one more time gently on the cheek.

Lois entered the house to find Clark sitting at the breakfast bar having some orangejuice.

He smiled. "Do you want some?"

She nodded. "So what did Lana want?" she asked casually.

"She feels guilty about the way we broke up and said she wanted to be friends even though she is seeing someone else.

"I don't think Jason is such a bad guy." Lois said hoping him knowing would keep him from getting back with her.

"What does Jason have to do with this?" Clark asked but he realised before Lois had a chance to answer. "Lana and Jason?"

"Yeah, they met in Paris over the Summer and he followed her back. Please don't tell her you know, as he could lose his job if anyone else finds out."

"How do you know?"

"Woman's intuition!" She smiled. "Anyway I am going to head to bed."

He leant over and gently kissed her on the lips. Lois was struggling to resist his constant attention. "Goodnight, Lo."

She did not reciprocate this time or even react except to wish him a good night...

No matter how hard Lois tried, she could not get to sleep. The erotic dreams had been replaced by nightmares about Lana getting back together with Clark. She decided to head down to the kitchen to grab a sandwich and a drink. She tiptoed down so not to wake Clark, but knew he would hear her anyway.

"Can you get me one too?" Came the shout from the lounge.

Lois walked through to see Clark, sitting on the sofa, rubbing his eyes. "What do you mean – a sandwich or a juice."

He smiled. "Whatever you are having!"

Lois made a sandwich and drink and went to join him on the sofa. He moved along to make space for her.

"Thanks, Lo. Could you not sleep? Not those dreams I hope." He laughed.

"No, nothing like that. I have a lot on my mind." She explained.

"Is there anything I can help you with."

"Ok but you have to promise not to laugh. Emil wants me to help him out with his hobby and I am scared."

"Why what is it? Grizzly bear wrestling or parachuting without a parachute or something." He joked.

"Very funny, Smallville.  
"He is obsessed with speleology." She said

He was puzzled. "What is that? Reading a dictionary or something."

"No, he has this fascination with caves and he wants me to come down the Kawatche caves with him. I am terrified of being enclosed in the dark. I want to act interested in his hobbies but that's not easy when you consider he collects soil specimens in his spare time. Don't get me wrong he is a lovely guy, but I am starting to wonder if I just said yes because I was desperate for a date."

"Why are you so desperate?" he asked.

"I might get left on the shelf. " she replied.

"You are only 18 and I can guarantee that is not going to happen. Someone will come along and sweep you off your feet." He started to place strands of her hair behind her ear.

She looked at his lips, wanting to kiss them. She could see he had the same idea as he was moving closer to her, but suddenly they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked Clark without thinking. She was so used to him x-raying doors.

He looked at her. "How would I know until I answer the door?"

He got up and opened the door. "Lana!" she said with surprise. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It is 4am. I have been driving around for the past hour, working up the courage to come and see you."

"Come in." He smiled at her.

She walked in and was shocked to see Lois sitting on the sofa. "Oh Lois. I did not know you would be here."

"I do live here, Lana and I get hungry."

Clark walked up to her and quietly snapped at her. "Lois, do you mind? Can you give us some time alone? She kinda looks upset."

"Doesn't she always!" Lois remarked and rolled her eyes.

"Lois, please. We can talk tomorrow."

Lois did not want to leave but knew she had to. "Ok, goodnight." She smiled and walked upstairs, hating the way Lana could just snap her finger and get this Clark to do whatever she wanted.

Next morning, Lois got up early to see if she could find out what went on between him and Lana.

He was eating his breakfast with his mom. She joined them. "So Smallville, how did the talk with the Pink Princess go?"

"Lana, when was she here?" Martha asked surprised.

"About 4am this morning." Lois added.

His mom looked at Clark. "What are you doing entertaining guests at that time of night. Could it not have waited until the morning?"

"Mom, she was upset that Alicia was back in town and felt threatened." He explained.

"Alicia is back in town. When was this? Clark, is there any chance you could keep us informed of anything we need to know about."

"It is under control and I did not want to worry you." Clark replied.

"Ok, as long as it is under control."

Martha left to head into town leaving a very peeved Clark. "Thanks, Lois. Why did you have to drop me in it?"

"I didn't mean to, but I don't trust Lana." Lois admitted.

"Why? What has she ever done to you?" Clark asked.

"I don't like the way she treats you. She has probably decided she wants you back." Lois explained.

"Don't be silly. She was here to find out what Alicia was up to? I said I would meet her for coffee tonight."

"What about Jason?"

"We are just friends, Lo. Much like we are. I go for coffee with you and it does not mean anything, does it." He smiled.

"So why do we keep kissing each other?" she asked outright.

"I told you the other day. We are just physically attracted to each other and we both know it would never work between us in a proper relationship. Anyway you have Emil and his cave obsession to deal with. So you worry about that and I will worry about Lana." He smiled.

Clark and Lois headed off to school together, bickering all the way as they used to.

Lana was waiting for Clark. "See what I mean. She is even meeting you at the school entrance now. You will be back with her by next week."

"Hi Clark." Lana said in her annoying 'little girl lost' voice as Lois called it.

"Hi Lana. Are you okay after last night?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, I fine. I was wondering if you want to meet for lunch." She asked.

Clark jumped at the offer as usual. "Ok, that would be great."

As Lana turned around, something caught Lois's eye. It was the necklace Lana was wearing. The small stone she usually wore on her chain had been replaced with a familiar looking ring.

She had arrived from the future...


	5. Chapter 5

Lois skipped second period using the excuse she had a doctor's appointment at the hospital. The school nurse insisted on dropping her off at Smallville Hospital. Luckily she could pretend she had an appointment with Emil, who covered for her.

Lois went into his office and shut the door. "She is here."

"Oh, I thought we would have a few more days. Where is she now?"

"She is probably wooing Clark over the table in the canteen." Lois explained. "He is like a little lap dog when she is around. I think we need to act quickly or they will be back together."

"Ok, I am heading to the caves this afternoon." Emil replied.

"I told Clark you were obsessed with caves and would be spending lots of time in them."

"Great, you paint such a nice interesting picture of me."

"So I have to find a way to keep them apart." Lois explained.

"I have thought about that and although it goes against the golden rule of time travel, I think there is only one answer to your question. If Lana can get Clark back as easy as you say, you are going to have to put up a barrier between them."

"A barrier; even the Berlin Wall would not have kept those two apart if Lana decides she wants him back."

"I'm talking about a human barrier...you! You're going to have to stop Lana getting her hands on him." Emil smiled knowingly.

"Emil, this is 17 year old Clark Kent we are talking about, he will not be interested in anyone but Lana Lang. Trust me I should know, I went through 4+ years of Clana torture."

"I suppose you are right. Anyway, there may be no need. Can you not just keep your relationship with him simmering under the surface, so he is not sure where he stands with you? This might make him think twice about jumping in bed with the devil, so to speak."

"Emil. Clark and I don't do 'simmering under the surface.' - there is a tendency for things to boil over."

"I will meet you at the Talon after work. I want Lana to see us together so she does not think we are hiding anything from her." Emil suggested.

"Clark is meeting her there later, so it will be perfect. Do I have to kiss you again? I keep feeling as though I am cheating on Clark." She smiled.

"Okay, we will just hold hands. I mean, what do you think Tess will do when she finds out we have been kissing behind her back." Emil replied.

"I dread to think." Lois laughed. "I will see you about 4pm."

Lois arrived back at lunchtime to see her prophecy was fulfilling itself, in the shape of Lana and Clark drooling over each other in the canteen. Lois noticed Jason looking over from the staff area, none too pleased with the looks between those two.

Luckily Lana was not in Clark's physics class after lunch, but Lois was.

She made sure she grabbed a seat next to him. "Hi Clark."

He looked concerned when he saw her. "Are you okay? I heard you were at the hospital this morning."

"I went to see Emil if you must know." She smiled.

He looked at her. "So I guess I can work out who those dreams were about." He teased but Lois could have sworn she detected a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"No, actually they weren't. They were about a certain 6ft 3 farm boy with a plaid obsession." She walked off leaving Clark in shock and went to see Chloe.

Lois spent the rest of the lesson ignoring Clark, as much as she hated to toy with his feelings after all she had said about Lana over the years. Keeping things simmering was easier than it seemed; the bright red look on his face was a sign that he was affected by her admission.

"Lois, can we talk?" he asked, as they walked out of the classroom. She took his hand and took him into a nearby cupboard whilst no one was looking.

She pushed him against the wall. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Your obsession about Lana! I worked out why you have been playing with my feelings for the past week. You can't bear to see us get back together. Why do it?" he asked angrily.

"Clark..." she started.

"You're jealous, aren't you? That I can find someone who makes me happy and you can't. You are just leading poor Emil on..." he accused her, not giving her a chance to explain.

"It doesn't matter anyway. If I get back with Lana, it is none of your business and if you have nothing nice to say about her, don't say anything at all." He opened the door and left Lois in tears.

"How could things be so screwed up?" She sobbed to herself.

Lois knew she was pushing him more towards Lana so decided she needed to back off for a while until he calmed down.

Emil was at the Talon as promised, so she took him to a seat at the back so they could talk. Even if Clark came in, she knew he would not listen in to them. Her Clark had often told her how he could never justify listening in unless there was a valid reason. Lois joked back how it was lucky that she did not have those powers.

"Emil, I am pushing him closer to Lana by the second." Lois said noticing the arrival of the very two people in question entering the cafe.

Lana took one look at Lana. "Emil, she has clocked you and she is heading this way."

Lana came up with Clark and smiled at Lois. "I heard you had a new boyfriend. Are you going to introduce us?"

Lois smiled. "This is Emil Hamilton. He is a doctor at the hospital."

Emil stood up and offered his hand and then glared at Lois. "Lois, aren't you going to introduce us."

"Sorry...this is Lana Lang. Clark's ex-girlfriend." Lois realised she had put her foot in it with Clark again.

"Nice to meet you. Maybe we will see more of you around town." Lana put on a false smile.

"I hope so. Lois keeps promising to show me around."

"I showed you everything in the first five minutes." Lois laughed.

"Are you coming to dinner tonight at the farm too?" Lois asked Lana. "Emil is coming. Martha invited him."

Lana shook her head, keeping up the friendly pretence. "No, I can't anyway. I have plans. Well we will let you get back to your coffee."

"Am I invited to dinner?" Emil asked as soon as they were alone.

"Yeah, the Kent's want to meet you. They tend to be overprotective of me." Lois smiled.

"So what happened down the caves?" Lois asked.

"I found where the console should be but before I could access it, Lex Luthor came down to see what I was doing. He keeps a close eye on those caves."

"So what happened?"

"I explained who I was and my interest in caves. He was keen to use my knowledge to find out more about them, so I have permission to visit anytime."

"You are very convincing. I could see Lana fell for it."

Lois smiled. "Maybe things are going our way for once."

But deep down, she could not help but worry about Clark, especially when she could see the goings-on between Lana and him at the other side of the Talon...

Martha was getting dinner ready when Lois arrived home.

"Where is Clark?" his mom asked.

"I left him at the Talon, he was on the verge of getting back together with Lana." She sighed.

Martha looked at her suspiciously. "Something tells me you are not too happy about that prospect."

"Mrs K, I don't know how you have coped over the year with those two being together, then apart. I just think he could do better. She does not treat him very well." Lois explained then realised she was not talking like Lois from 2005 would have.

"I thought she was seeing someone."

"No doubt he has been dumped, now the better offer has come along." Lois commented.

Martha sighed. "I will set him a place but he will probably be late. I am looking forward to meeting Emil properly. He seems like a lovely young man."

"He is. I think he is great." Lois replied, giving her true opinion of her friend.

Seconds later, Clark came in through the door whistling. Lois knew he rarely whistled unless he was happy. No doubt Lana had snapped her fingers and he had come running.

"You seem happy!" Lois suggested, as sat down in the lounge and switched on TV.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"No reason. You're back with Lana, I take it." She replied.

"Well not officially, but it won't be long. She says she is going to dump her boyfriend." He said chirply.

"Does that not worry you? She is willing to dump Jason at a moment's notice to get back with you." Lois was desperate to stop him making a big mistake.

"You can talk, Lois. You are cheating on Emil." He fired back at her.

They both heard someone clearing their throat. It was Emil, standing there at the entrance to the lounge. He had obviously heard everything by the look on his face. Lois knew he had to react.

"Lois, can we talk?" Emil said.

Lois glared at Clark who had a horrified look on his face. "I am so sorry." He mouthed at her.

"It's a bit late now." She replied after Emil left the room, waiting for her to follow.

She looked sheepish as she walked past Martha who had heard Clark's outburst.

They went outside. Emil smiled and put his hand to his ear but signal that Clark could be listening in.

"So what's going on? What is Clark talking about?" Emil asked angrily.

Lois started to cry. "I am so sorry Emil. You have to know I did not mean to hurt you but I have fallen for someone else."

"It's Clark, isn't it?" he replied.

"It doesn't matter who it is."

"I think we should take a break to have a think about where we stand." Emil said disappointedly. "Tell Mrs Kent, I am sorry but in the circumstances I do not think I can stay for dinner."

Emil winked at her and then kissed her on the forehead. He then left...

Lois walked back in, cheeks wet from the crying. Even she did not know if her crying was genuine or not. She could not take much more of being close to Clark without being with him.

Martha turned to Clark. "Could you get your dad from the barn and tell him tea is almost ready?"

He walked towards Lois, looking at her with a look she had never seen from this Clark before. It was a mixture of confusion and emotion. He had obviously heard everything.

"Mrs K., Emil says he is sorry but he is going to have to miss dinner." Lois explained.

"Clark was out of order. I have told him that and I think he owes you and Emil an apology. He seems to be going through sort of weird teenage phase at the moment."

"He shouldn't have to apologise for telling the truth." Lois admitted.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Martha asked caringly.

"There's no point. I am in love with someone who does not feel the same way." Lois replied.

"Ok, but if you need to talk, I am always here. You are like the daughter I never had and please call me Martha. Mrs K makes me feel so old."

Lois managed a smile. "Ok, thanks." She hugged her, only to be interrupted by Clark and Jonathan's arrival.

Emil had received a phone call after he left the Farm. It was Lex and he wondered if he would come to the mansion to meet his father Lionel. He decided to head there as he was only a few minutes' drive away.

He stopped at the gate, and told security who he was. Lex was obviously expecting him even though he was early, so he headed to the drawing room where he was directed. Whilst he was walking down one of the many corridors, obviously lost, he heard giggles coming from a door. The door was slightly ajar and he inadvertently peeped through, not believing what he saw.

He walked off and hid around the corner.

"So I hope to see you soon. I must admit I did not expect such a welcome back from Paris." Lana laughed before giving him a passionate kiss.

"Neither did I, but I am definitely not complaining. I thought you were seeing someone." Lex said.

"No, I dumped him. Being away has given me a chance to see what we could have together. I like a man with power." She started to push him back in the room, but was stopped when a security guard approached.

"Mr Luthor, there is an Emil Hamilton here to see you."

"Thanks. Could you show Ms Lang out please? I have sorted that business out for you." He smiled at Lana.

Emil headed towards the drawing room and waited for Lex to arrive.

"Dr Hamilton. I did not expect you here so quickly, but I appreciate you coming at such short notice. My father is just making a quick conference call and will be with us shortly."

Emil was puzzled. History seemed to be changing before his very eyes. Lana and Lex were not suppos

ed to get together for a few months yet and Lana and Clark's relationship was way ahead of schedule. What was happening? Lois and he needed to find out as quickly as possible before anymore harm was done.

The atmosphere over dinner was strange to say the least.

Jonathan looked at Lois and Clark. Martha had not had the chance to tell him what was going on, so he soon commented. "Does anyone mind telling me what is going on?"

"Nothing!" Clark replied although he had barely made eye contact with Lois since they sat down.

"You two have had a fight?" he said to them.

"Jonathan, it's under control." Martha said to reassure him.

"No it's not Martha. I am going to sort this. I am so fed up with Clark's moods recently. Can we have a chat outside?" He looked at his son.

Clark sighed and got up following his dad outside. "What now?" his attitude obvious in his voice.

"Clark, I want to know what is going on between you and Lois. You have done nothing but argue since she moved in."

"Nothing."

"Is that you standard answer to everything these days? I want to know." His dad snapped.

"She is constantly needling me about my feelings for Lana and always has an opinion on everything. I think she is jealous."

"What would she be jealous of?" his dad asked. "It not as though she likes you."

The look said it all. "That's the problem." He told his dad. "I have feelings for her too and I am confused what they mean."

"So she feels the same way?"

"I think so. There have been moments between us..."

"What kind of moments?" Jonathan probed further.

"It is like we are being pulled together and nothing can stop it from happening."

"What from happening?" Jonathan asked. Clark knew what his dad was implying.

"Dad, not that...well not yet!" Clark admitted.

"Clark, I do not need to remind you of the potential risks of that and the fact you are only 17 years old and too young to be involved in a serious relationship."

"Dad, I never said I wanted to date Lois. I am in love with Lana and there will never be anyone else for me."

His dad frowned. "From what you've told me, you may be rethinking that in the very near future.

They suddenly saw a Hummer approaching. It was General Lane. He climbed out of the car in full military uniform.

"Hi Mr Kent, Clark...is my daughter here?" he asked.

"Yeah she is in the house. Come in."

Lois was shocked by her father's arrival. "Hi daddy, what are you doing here?"

"Amazing news, Lo! I have had word from Washington DC University to say you have been offered a full scholarship with exemption for your remaining high school credits. You start on Monday, so I have booked your flight for Sunday morning. Here are the details. I have to catch a flight back to DC in less than two hours so I will meet you at the airport on Sunday when you land."

Lois could not speak. "But daddy, I am settled here. That only gives me two days to say goodbye to everyone."

"You are shipping out on Sunday or will come and get you. This is not the sort of opportunity you turn down." Her father ordered. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to fly. Thanks again for looking after my little Lo. It means a lot."

After her father left, Lois excused herself. "I am going for a drive." She headed straight to the hospital where she found Emil doing some late night research.

"We have a major problem. My father has just been by the farm and announced that I will be moving to DC in two days. What can I do?"

Emil stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I think I know what might be going on. Lex invited me to the mansion to meet Lionel, and I arrived there early only to see Lana coming out of Lex's bedroom. As she left, he said he had sorted some business for her. I would bet $100 that he has pulled some strings to get you out of the way for her. I think Lana is threatened by your closeness to Clark and that has made her put her plan into action much earlier than planned."

"So I have changed history."

"I think we need to accept the present time we return to, is going to be different from what we knew. When we arrive back in our own time, we will have all memories intact, of what has happened in the past."

"Explain that to me again." Lois begged.

"Say you stay here for another month and then head back to present time, you will jump back into your body in present time. All the memories that Lois has accrued over the years from 2005-2012 will be in that Lois, so the past will seem as though it has happened to you even if you have not experienced it yourself."

Lois shook her head. "I think I get the gist of what you are saying. I don't want to go to DC but cannot see how I can stay in Smallville."

"We need to keep Lana and Clark apart and then go back to our present and hope things have not gone too haywire." He explained

"How do we do that?" Lois asked.

"You mean, how do YOU do that?" Emil smiled. "You know what we talked about earlier. Let's put it in simple terms. We need to make sure that Clark will never go back to Lana again."

Lois smiled knowing exactly what he meant. She needed to seduce Clark. What both of them did not realise is that Clark arrived just in time to see them leave the hospital arm in arm, and then fled into the night, even more confused than ever...


	6. Chapter 6

When Lois got home, Clark was asleep or at least pretending to be asleep on the sofa. She crept past him and went to bed.

She thought about the plan she has hatched with Emil. He had arranged with Lex to spend the following day in the cave and had convinced him that he could not work if people were looking over his shoulder so they agreed to leave him alone.

Lois had booked a nice hotel in the country pretending she was heading there so patch things up with Emil on the Friday night.

Chloe wanted gossip the next day at school. "When will I meet this mysterious man, when everyone else seems to have met him."

"How about Saturday? I am having a farewell dinner at the farm."

Chloe looked upset. "I am going to miss you, Lo."

"I will miss you too cuz but I will be back to visit. I promise." Lois smiled.

"So how about tonight?" Chloe asked, just as Clark appeared.

"I can't... I am heading up to Appleton Grove to that nice hotel. Emil is treating us to a night there to say goodbye. I'm driving up and he is following after he is finished at the caves. I would wait but I want some treatments in the spa before he arrives."

Chloe smirked. "I bet he is. Wonder what he has got planned."

Lois looked at Clark who was sitting in silence. Chloe turned to him. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing." He replied.

Chloe got up. "I have to check in on the Torch."

He looked at her. "I am so sorry about last night. It was unfair of me. Maybe it is for the best that you are moving away."

"Yeah it is Clark. I could not be held responsible for what would happen if I stayed." She replied cryptically.

His gaze fixed on hers again. "Shall we go and talk somewhere quiet about this."

"No I can't Clark...you know where we will end up." She replied.

"My head is so confused. It is like my head tells me that I should get back with Lana, but something is prodding my heart telling me not to. There is something between us, isn't there?" he said.

"Yes there is..." They were interrupted by her cell. "It's Emil."

"What do you mean, you have to cover at work tonight. We are all booked up." She snapped at Emil. "You promised. If you cancel, we are over."

"Fine." She shouted down the phone, hanging up on him in the process.

Clark could see she was upset. "Are you ok?"

"No, I'm not. Emil has to work in the ER in Met Gen all night. Well you know what; I am still going to the hotel. Wanna join me?" She said, waiting for his response.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked, hoping she wasn't.

She shook her head. "I'm deadly serious. I will pick you up on the old Ford Road at 6.30pm so no one sees us together."

Clark grinned with excitement. "Ok, you are on."

She texted Emil to tell him everything was going to plan. She was excited at the prospect of spending time alone with her future husband.

The rest of the day flew past. Lois just let everyone think she was headed up to the hotel with Emil.

She was so excited about going with Clark that she was actually on time picking him up.

"My god, you're on time." He teased as he climbed in the car.

"Shut up Smallville or I will leave you here." She laughed.

He got in and they set off on the one hour drive up north. "Have you been here before?" she asked, trying to break the uncomfortable tension.

"No, but I have been told it is nice."

"What did you tell Emil?"

"I have not spoken to him since I hung up on him." She was not lying, because she had only texted him.

"How about Lana?"

"I saw her in passing and she asked if I wanted to have dinner with her, but I told her I had a better offer."

"You didn't tell her?" she asked shocked.

"No, I told her and my parents I was going to visit Pete in Wichita for the night." Clark smiled.

"You probably wish you were." Lois smirked.

He looked at her with a familiar gaze, well a familiar one from 2012. "No, I don't but I have to admit but I am very nervous about what is going to happen tonight."

"We don't have to do anything you are uncomfortable with." Lois smiled.

"I know. The same goes for you too."

They arrived at the hotel and were shown to their room. The door swung open to reveal wall to wall rose petals, and a bottle of champagne waiting for them.

Lois went bright red and looked at Clark. "This is embarrassing. Emil must have planned this. I am sorry."

"Lois, he didn't plan it. I rang up this afternoon to arrange it. I wanted you to know that being invited to spend the night with you means so much to me. I don't want you to think this will be some kind of fling to me. Ever since you made the suggestion to me, things have become so much clearer and I realise now it is my feelings for you that have been stopping me going back to Lana. I need to be with you..."

"I need you too..." Lois moaned as she was scooped up by Clark..

Lois woke to find Clark staring at her with the biggest grin on his face.

"How long have you been staring at me?" Lois asked.

"For an hour or so. You look so beautiful in the morning." He kissed her on the end of the nose.

"What have you got planned?" she asked him.

"I was going to order us breakfast in bed." He smiled. "But...I was hoping you would refuse and say you have different ideas."

"How about a shower?" Lois teased.

"Ok, you're on." He followed her into the bathroom.

Clark was just shaving when her phone bleeped. It was Emil. He had got word from Jor-el via the console in the cave that there had been a major disruption in the timeline and they had to meet at the caves as soon as they could so they could be transported back before any more harm was done.

Lois told Clark they needed to go home so she could pack. He looked at her in disbelief but agreed to leave. She was devastated to be leaving this Clark and just hoped things would be back to normal when she returned to the present and she could get back to her life with her husband.

Lois knew she had to broach the subject. "I will come and visit you when I am on holiday."

Clark went quiet, and looked at her with such sadness in his eyes. "I didn't think you would be going to DC now after what just happened."

"I don't have a choice. My father is a powerful man and he gets what he wants."

"Lois, you do have a choice. You are over 18 years old. Just tell him you are not going." Clark begged her to reconsider.

It was tearing at her heart. She could not bear to see the pleading in his eyes. "Don't do this Clark! Please understand that I have to go."

"No, I don't and I never will understand. I fell in love with you last night, and I gave you my heart. Now you are going to walk out of my life." Clark was becoming emotional.

When they were nearing the area of the Kawatche caves, she asked Clark to stop. "Can you drop me here? I feel like some fresh air."

Clark pulled over to let her get out. "Lois, if you leave, I will be here waiting, but first I need to tell you my secret. I have never told anyone this willingly."

She looked over at him with tears rolling down her face. She put her fingers to his lips. "Please don't. Just remember I will always love you." She climbed out the car and ran off.

Clark could not cope with his emotions and drove off.

She headed towards the caves where Emil was waiting for her. "Lois, what is wrong?"

"Emil, it's not important, let's just go. Has Jor-el decided that it is safe to go back?" She asked.

"He said things had changed due to our actions and we were to return immediately."

"Do it!" Lois said as she grabbed Emil's hand. He pressed a button and a light shot out from the wall. She closed her eyes and felt herself move.

Seconds later, she still had the sensation of movement but now with an added whirring noise. She was scared to open her eyes in case it was not a future she recognised. She no longer felt Emil hand holding hers.

All of a sudden, a voice appeared overhead. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts ready for our descent into Metropolis."

Her eyes shot open and the memories of the past month came flooding back to her. She was en route from Washington DC to Smallville to visit for the first time since leaving to go to University. She remembered the traumatic events leading up to her departure. She had fought her dad to stay in Smallville with Clark but he had come to get her.

The Kent's had no choice but to take sides with her father and tell her to move out. No-one ever found out why she had not wanted to leave Smallville. She had not heard from Clark since she left, which had left her heartbroken and emotional. She just hoped Emil had jumped the month as well, as she needed to know why Jor-el had only sent her forward a month.

One thing that worried her were the texts on her cell stating that Clark and Lana were getting close again. She knew he was upset with her for leaving but after their night together, she never thought he would get back with Lana.

Chloe was waiting at the airport. "I cannot believe you have been gone for a month. I have missed you so much."

As they drove home, she filled Lois in on the gossip. They arrived back at the Farm where the Kent's had been happy to welcome her back.

"Lois, I am sorry we had to side with your dad." Martha said over a cup of tea.

"You had no choice, Martha. My father can be a force to be reckoned with when he wants to be."

"So how is University?"

"It's ok, but I miss life here so much. I have applied to transfer to Met U but I have not heard back yet. My dad doesn't know but I have come to the conclusion that I am an adult now and I can make my own decisions." Lois explained confidently.

Martha smiled. "I am proud of you."

"Would you mind keeping this between us two? I want to see what the outcome is before everyone finds out." Lois asked.

"Of course. So how have things being here. You seem preoccupied." Lois asked Martha.

"I just have a few things on my mind. I have come to the conclusion that raising a teenage son is more stressful than bringing up a baby." Martha smiled.

"Is Clark ok?"

"He is fine, but I worry about the choices he is making. He seems to be changing by the minute. I think he is going through the rebellious phase." She laughed.

"What has he been up to?" Lois asked.

Just then Clark walked in. "Mom, I don't think that is any of her business, do you?" he sneered at Lois as he went upstairs.

"Clark Kent, get down here now and apologise." His mom shouted.

"Make me." He snapped.

Lois got up. "I will go and try to talk to him." She went up and knocked on the open bedroom door to find Clark lying on his bed.

He looked at her. "Lois, don't bother coming in. This is not your room anymore, and I am not having the sofa whilst you are here."

"What's up with you? Is this because I left?" She asked.

"Lois, don't flatter yourself. It was just sex. I used you... get over it. I am with Lana now and she is so much more fun than you ever were."

Lois turned around, and panicked. She hoped he had not done anything stupid with Lana, but the more pressing question was...how had Lana infected him with Red K?

Lois knew she had to remain calm, any wrong move could make Lana suspicious. She had seen enough of Clark on Red K to know when he was infected by it.

She headed back downstairs. "I see what you mean. He is in an odd mood. No doubt he will get out of it the way he got out of it."

Martha gave an unconvincing smile. "He has been like this since he got back with Lana a few days ago."

Lois tried to question his mom covertly as she knew Clark would probably be listening in. "Oh, so they got back together. It is amazing what difference a month can make. Maybe he is just stressed about something."

"He was stressed before he got back with her, but he was not angry like this, more moping." Martha explained. "I was hoping it was because he was missing you."

Lois laughed. "That is nice of you to say but I think the only thing that Clark felt when I left town was relief. I don't think he misses me."

Clark came downstairs. "I am going out but I don't know if I will be back tonight."

"Are you headed into town, Clark?"

"Yeah, why?" he snapped.

"Could you give me a lift? I said I would catch up with Chloe later." She played it cool even though she hated the way he acted on Red K.

Clark looked at her. "Ok, if I must."

They were soon driving into town. "I only said yes to giving you a lift because I am so sick of the Kent's having a go at me."

"Since when have you called your parents 'the Kent's." She asked.

"They are not my real parents, in fact I sometimes wonder if I would have been happier if someone else had found me." Clark replied harshly without any sign of emotion is his voice.

Lois knew this must have been a pure form of red meteor rock because he was badly affected by it.

Clark broke the silence between them. "I have not slept with her yet, if that is what is worrying you." There was a hint of normal Clark in his voice but that changed along with his expression. "But that will all change after tonight."

"Clark, why are you telling me this? As you said before our one night stand was just that. Do you think I have been a nun in Washington DC? Don't flatter yourself that I am wanting a repeat performance. If I had wanted that, I never would have left for DC." Lois said convincingly.

She had always found this apathetic attitude the best defence against the effects of Clark on Red K and had perfected her act over the years.

Clark was speechless but then replied. "You surprise me. Maybe I have overestimated your feelings for me."

"It seems that way. What you and Lana do is your business." Lois remarked.

Clark dropped Lois off at the Talon. Lana was waiting for him to pick her up.

"Hi Lois." She said chirpily, in complete contrast to the way she had treated her before she left Smallville a month ago.

"Hi." Lois replied, determined to use Lana's new found friendliness to her advantage. "so where are you guys off to?"

"Just to a hotel in the country. Apparently it is very expensive and it has a spa so I can be pampered. Clark is such a romantic and insisted on taking me away for a weekend." Lana said smugly.

"Oh that's nice." Lois knew which hotel it would be. All she needed to do was to find Emil. They needed to get up to the hotel before Lana and Clark got up there.

"Lana, I am still taking you to that Harley Davison Dealership in Topeka on the way there. I feel like buying one." He pulled a credit card out of his wallet and flashed it at everyone.

"Clark, I am sure your dad will be impressed if you buy a bike on his card." Lois smirked.

"If you tell him, Lois..."

"And spoil the fun of seeing how he reacts when you have to tell him where the bike came from?" She laughed.

Clark was getting annoyed by Lois's brazen attitude. "You know what Lois, do us all a favour and go back to DC. You are turning into a right *****."

Lois calculated that Clark and Lana would not be up to the hotel until after dusk unless of course he had told Lana about his powers but that was unlikely . There is no way Lana would announce to him that she already knew about his powers; she was no doubt expecting him to tell her that night.

"Thanks for that. I am going to see Emil. I might get a better reception off him and Chloe will not be back until later." Lois smiled. "Have a nice weekend."

She walked to the hospital and just hoped he still worked there. She approached the nurse on reception. "Hi, can you tell me if Dr Emil Hamilton still works here?"

"Yes, he does."

"I need to see him." Lois asked.

"Who shall I say is here to see him." The nurse replied, picking up the phone.

"Tell him it is Lois."

She put the phone down. "Just go along. He is expecting you."

Lois walked nervously along the corridor until she came to his office. She knocked on the door. "Emil, I need your help."

"Ms Lane." He replied formally. "I was told you would come and find me."

Lois realised this was not the same Emil she had known for years.


	7. Chapter 7

Lois stared at Emil, "This is not the time for jokes, Emil. We need to act now."

"This is no joke, Ms Lane. I have never met you before."

Lois sunk into the nearest chair. "What is going on? Why did I jump and Emil did not."

Suddenly his expression changed to a very familiar one, he turned and smiled at her. "Sorry about that Lois."

"What happened?"

"I have literally just jumped. I do not know the reason Jor-el sent us back at different times, maybe it was unintentional." He said with a slightly worried look on his face. "When are we by the way?"

"One month down the line from where we jumped from and we have major problems."

"Shoot..."

"Clark has gone off for a dirty weekend with Lana."

"But I thought he had fallen for you." Emil replied surprised.

"Lana has got him infected with Red K somehow, and we need to get some green kryptonite to counteract the effects before he does something he will regret. I bet she is pregnant already." Lois explained.

"So back in this time, where would we come across some green meteor rock?"  
"There is some back at the farm in the barn, but we have to sneak it out and use it without Clark or Lana realising it." Lois remarked.

"Ok, let's go to the farm." Emil suggested. "Has the time jump affected you? You look a little pale."

"No, I'm just tired."

They drove back to the farm where they greeted by Martha. "Hi Lois, Hi Dr Hamilton. Do you want some coffee?"

"No thanks, Martha. I was going to show Emil the horses. He has a phobia of them and I told him the best thing he could do was confront them."

"I fell off one when I was younger and got kicked in the face." Emil smiled, going into too much detail.

"Ok then." She smiled.

They went to the barn and located the lead lined box in the tool box. Lois opened it...

The next thing Lois remembered was waking up with such a headache and blurred vision. It took a while for her to focus on the figure leaning over her. It was Emil with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you ok? You just passed out. I am hoping this is not one of the effects of the time travel. Jor-el warned me it could have side effects."

Lois grabbed hold of the hand, offered to her and pulled herself up. "I don't remember anything. Have we got the rock? We need to get up to that hotel."

Emil went into a trance as he usual did when he was thinking something over. Minutes later he spoke. "This is not going to work. Even if we can get the kryptonite near him, he is going to know we did it and then that will make Clark ask questions, like how did we know about red and green meteor rock."

"So what is your suggestion?" Lois asked puzzled.

"I'll put the rock back and we can leave an anonymous letter for his parents. They will act..." Emil suggested.

"That is an excellent plan, but you will have to write it." Lois smiled.

Emil popped back to his office at the hospital and wrote a letter for the Kent's and Lois returned the box to the barn. As soon as he returned, Lois walked in the house with Emil. Jonathan was not far behind them.

"Martha, could we take you up on your kind offer of a drink?"

Martha smiled. "Of course you can."

"I brought the mail in for you."

Martha put the bills down and then studied the final envelope. "That's odd. There is no stamp on this one. Did you happen to see who delivered it?" She said as she opened it. Her expression suddenly changed to one of concern, as she handed it to her husband.

Lois acted concerned. "Is everything ok?"

Jonathan put on a false smile. "It's fine, Lois. We just have to deal with some urgent business out of town."

"Anything I can help you with."

"Would you keep an eye on the farm? We may be out of town for the whole day." Martha said as she looked at Jonathan and they headed off to get ready to leave.

"No problem, as long as everything is ok." Lois replied.

Within twenty minutes they had left. Lois looked at Emil. "I feel a little guilty, worrying them like that."

"Let's have a coffee and discuss our next move." He replied. "First of all we need to figure out why we are here. Are you ok, after your fainting episode?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, although I have never smelt such strong coffee. Mrs K must have changed brands; it is actually making me feel very queasy." She said as she suddenly got the urge to empty her stomach. Luckily she made it to the bathroom in time.

Emil took something out of his bag and followed her. He waited patiently for the sounds of heaving to stop and then knocked on the door. "Lois, can you open the door?"

Lois actually looked better then she had, when she eventually opened the door. "It must be a 24 hour thing; probably something I ate on the plane."

Emil smiled. "I was thinking more of a 9 month thing. Pee on this!" he said, as he passed her a stick.

Lois felt the color drain from her face. "You don't think I am..."

Emil stopped her. "One way to find out." He replied. "It might explain why Jor-el has sent us here. Just put us out of our misery."

She took it and headed back into the bathroom. The gasps coming from the bathroom minutes later answered his question...

"Lois, you can come out if you want to talk about this?" Emil said gently through the door.

There was no reply. "We can deal with this?"

"No, we can't. Trust Lois Lane to royally screw up the time line." She sobbed.

Emil tried the door, and found it was open. "Let's go downstairs and talk."

"Yeah...ok, but I need a drink." She replied.

"Not in your state." Emil lectured in doctor mode.

Lois wiped the tears from her eyes. "How could this have happened?" She asked herself as she sat down.

"Were you not on the pill years ago?" Emil asked.

"No, I didn't bother with it until I met Ollie. I did not sleep around and the pill always seemed to affect me badly." She defended herself.

"So what are my options?"

"I know you will be keeping it..." Emil grabbed her hand. "There is only one possibility as far as I can see it. You tell Clark in this time you are pregnant and hope the older version of Lois can deal with the pregnancy when you leap but it would have major implications for the timeline and getting back to the 2012 you know, would be impossible."

Lois looked at him. "Could the baby come with me when I jump so it can be born in 2012 rather than 2005."

Emil stayed quiet for a few moments and then smiled. "I suppose it is possible, but it would take a while to work out with Jor-el at the caves how to do it. That would be the best option if Clark would be ok with you coming back pregnant."

"It is still his child and we have talked about kids recently. It would be a shock but he would deal with it." Lois smiled, excited at the thought of her new plan.

"I am wondering if this is why Jor-el made us come to this point of time so we could decide what to do when history changed and you fell pregnant." Emil replied.

"Ok, let's do it. You are going to have to make sure no-one from this time finds out you are pregnant. Let's go to the hospital now and I will scan you to make sure everything is ok with the baby and to get you some anti-sickness meds."

"Why did I faint?"

"That is one thing that concerns me. There is a chance that you have some powers from the foetus, as you seemed to react badly to the presence of kryptonite."

"I will stay away from it. I just hope that Martha and Jonathan can bring Clark back soon, because if Lana does get her way, when I arrive back in 2012 this baby won't have a father..."

They headed to the hospital where Emil did some blood tests and borrowed a scanner from the maternity department. Lois lay down and waited to see the baby.

"Lois, don't get your hopes up too much. It will be tiny and there will not be much to see." He said as he applied some of the cold gel and ran the probe across her stomach.

All Lois could see at first was a black screen but soon her eyes picked up a small dot. "Where is it's heartbeat.

"It is too soon to see it. You will only be about six weeks gone." Emil replied.

Lois had tears in her eyes, the feelings were overwhelming. "I know it is just a small blob but I am not willing to lose it, so if I can't jump with the baby, I don't jump at all."

Emil looked at her for clarification. "What do you mean?"

"Lana stayed in this time and never jumped back to 2012, right? Well I am going to do the same. I promise I will do everything I can to make you and Tess meet."

Emil weighed up the matter. "You don't need to. If you stay, I stay. But we agree if we can take the baby as well that you will come back to 2012 with me."

Lois smiled and hugged Emil. "Yes I promise."

"How long do you need to sort everything at the caves?"

"It depends when Jor-el makes contact. It could be days or weeks. I have no idea what he has planned. Luckily I still have unrestricted access to the caves." Emil explained. "I will head there at first light tomorrow."

"We need to get Lana to jump as well, otherwise she has the next eight years to convince Clark to fall for her lies." Lois replied.

"This is not going to be easy." Emil frowned. "There are so many variables."

They headed to the hospital canteen for something to eat as it would be a while before the Kent's arrived back if they had been successful.

When they finally headed back to the farm they noticed the truck was back. Lois jumped out the truck and went to see what had happened. She walked in to find Clark sitting at the table holding his head in his hands. There was no sign of Lana. His parents were sat next to him. He had the look that Lois had seen many times over the years – 'the post red kryptonite hangover' – as Lois liked to call it. He had obviously remembered everything that had gone on since he got infected.

He took one look at Lois and got up running upstairs.

"What's happening?" Lois asked, knowing they would never tell her.

"Nothing Lois." Jonathan smiled. "Just a few things we have to discuss with Clark."

"Is he ok?"

Martha smiled. "Why don't you go and see him?"

Lois nodded and headed upstairs, not sure what reception she would get. "Clark..." she said as she gently knocked on the door.

Luckily the tablets that Emil had given her for the sickness were working.

"Leave me alone." Clark shouted back.

"Ok then." She announced, turning to leave and she heard Clark get up. The door opened a small way.

"Come in." He said as he turned and settled back on the bed. "I am surprised you want to talk to me after what I said to you this morning. I am so sorry. I cannot explain why I said all that stuff but I didn't mean it."

She sat next to him. "It's ok. I know you didn't mean it." She whispered in his ear as she held him tightly.

Clark pulled back and looked at her sitting on the bed. He started to push the hair out of her eyes. "Why are you so forgiving Lois? I had always thought of you as a hotheaded, impulsive person but you are so patient and understanding."

"Some things are worth waiting for?" she replied, not noticing Clark's lips moving towards her. She pulled back. "Clark, we can't. I came up to talk."

SLo, nothing happened between Lana and me whilst you were gone. I missed you. I wanted to come and see you so many times but I knew you had made your decision when you left."

Clark's admission was breaking her heart. She felt so guilty. Here he was, laying his feelings on the line and she knew she could not tell him how she really felt.

"Clark, I have asked for a transfer back to Met U."

He grinned from ear to ear. "That means we can be together." He kissed her, catching her off guard.

Lois could not help herself, lost in the moment, she surrendered.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Clark, Lois. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah mom." Clark managed to detach himself from Lois. "just talking...we will be down in a moment."

Lois sat up, only to be dragged back down on the bed by Clark. "I need to be with you, Lois but not here. Meet me in the barn at midnight when my parents are asleep."

"Ok." Lois smiled and then remembered Emil was still sitting in the truck waiting. Well that was until she got downstairs with Clark and realised that he was at the table having a drink with Martha and Jonathan.

As soon as Clark saw Emil, his expression changed. He looked at Lois with such confusion in his eyes.

"Lois, why didn't you tell us that Emil was in the car? He is going to stay to dinner." Martha commented.

"Oh great." Clark whispered under his breath.

They all sat down to dinner. "So how long are you back for?" Jonathan asked Lois.

"Martha probably told you I am trying to get moved to Met U. I don't want to go back. I miss Smallville too much."

Jonathan smirked. "I wonder what is keeping you here." He looked at Emil.

Clark glared at Emil, who could not help but notice. "I don't think I am keeping her here. I think it is most likely your home cooked food, Mrs Kent. This is fabulous."

"Thanks, you will have to come again. I am glad Lois has found someone who makes her happy."

Clark waited a few minutes, so not to be obvious. "I have a headache, so if you don't mind I am going to get some fresh air." He got up and walked off.

"Don't worry, he is just going through some issues at the moment." Martha excused him.

Clark did not come back until after Emil had gone. He went to see his parents who were watching TV with Lois. "Sorry for missing the rest of dinner."

"Lois, you can have my room tonight." Clark conceded.

"I have already moved my stuff in." She laughed, jokingly.

Clark had his serious face on. "You don't waste any time, do you? I hope you don't think Emil can stay over." He looked at his parents. "The same rules should apply for Lois, as for me."

Lois got up. "If it is ok with you, I am going to head to bed." She realised the pregnancy must be making her tired.

Once Lois was upstairs, Jonathan shouted at his son, not realising Lois was hearing everything. "What is up with you at the moment? I thought you had sweated out the red meteor rock."

"I have...I just have a lot on my mind."

"Like what? Is this about Lana or Lois?"

Martha looked at Jonathan. "What about Lois?"

"Clark has feelings for Lois." Jonathan admitted, drawing a look of annoyance from his son.

"But Lois is with Emil." Martha added. "Is that why you are acting strange around them?"

"I know but I cannot help the way I feel." He shouted back. "I am in love with her."

Lois fell back against the bedroom wall. Could this get any more complicated? She just hoped Jor-el could get them back to 2012 soon because her feelings for Clark were pure torture, no doubt made worse by her recent hormonal surge.

She listened in again.

"Clark, we have another problem. We wouldn't have known about your Red K infection if there had not been a note left telling us."

"How could that be? No one else knows about my powers...unless my hunch about Chloe knowing is right."

"You think Chloe knows?" Jonathan asked in concerned tone. "What makes you think that?"

"I think she has always known. It is just the way she looks at me."

"We need to find out who left it. And you still can't remember how you got infected."

"I have thought back and I think it must have been a fluke. I remember Lana saying I should try some new cherryade that the Talon had just had delivered. She said it had some alleged secret ingredient which made it taste different. It must have been some form of Red K." Clark explained. "I can ask Lana if you like."

"No, it may make her suspicious. Just stay away from the Talon for a while." Jonathan ordered. "What made you run away with Lana anyway if you are in love with Lois?"

"I don't know." Clark replied. "Listen do you mind if I head over the barn."

Martha nodded. "Thanks for being open with us, Clark. We can work through this together except the thing with Lois. You need to accept she is with Emil. Maybe one day..."

Clark interrupted her. "I know there is no chance for me and Lois, but I cannot switch my feelings off just like that..." he headed over to the barn.

Lois waited for his parents to retire for the night and headed over to see Clark.


	8. Chapter 8

Something made Lois turn around as she approached the barn. The realisation had hit her. Every time she talked to Clark, kissed him or whatever, itwas changing history beyond recognition. She was not being fair to him. The safest course of action was to use her relationship with Emil as an excuse not to get back with Clark. All she had to do was bide time until Emil could sort the jump back with Jor-el so she headed back to the farmhouse and went to bed.

Next morning, she had arranged to hang out with Chloe for the day. What she hadn't realised was that Lana had asked Chloe to invite Clark along so they could hang out. Apparently Clark had been giving Lana the cold shoulder since they came back yesterday. Chloe had arranged to hang out at Crater Lake.

Clark asked Lois if she needed a lift to the Lake as Chloe was taking Lana. She knew she had to agree.

"Where is Emil today?" he asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence between them.

"He is working down the Kawatche Caves for Lionel. They think he may be able to find out something about their origins." Lois replied honestly, noticing him shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He was obviously not happy at the prospect of Emil nosing around the caves in case he came up with something about his Kryptonian heritage.

"What does he think he will find?" Clark asked sharply.

"He has no clue what Lionel expects to find. He says they just seem like normal caves to him." Lois added to try and calm him down.

Lana and Chloe were waiting at the car park.

"Hi Clark." Lana said sheepishly.

"Hi Lana." He replied.

They headed to the beach where Lois decided to go for a swim. She just wished she had a one piece back in 2005. She was amazed when she looked through her closet to find the skimpiest bikinis ever.

She picked the most modest one and headed off to the diving board. She looked down and noticed she was a little bloated, no doubt due to the baby and water retention. She stood on the edge of the board and looked across noticing Clark's eyes not leaving her body. Chloe and lana were too caught up in gossiping to notice his distraction.

Lois could not help herself and smiled at him. She dived off the side, but misjudged it knocking her head on the way down. She felt funny as she sunk down to the bottom of the lake. Next thing she knew was the feel of familiar arms wrap around her and swim to the shore with her. He scooped her up and placed her on a towel on the beach. She felt woozy and just lay there for a moment until she heard a familiar voice.

"Has she got a pulse? Is she breathing?" Chloe asked in a panic.

"Lois, are you ok?" She heard Clark ask in a shaky voice. She opened her eyes to see Clark staring at her in a blind panic, but not at her face. His eyes were concentrating on her lower stomach and she could tell he was scanning her.

She panicked and tried to get up. He had obviously heard the baby's heartbeat and was now scanning her to find out where it was coming from."

She sat up. "Clark, it's ok. You can calm down. I am fine." But she could see from the look on his face that he was anything but calm. He knew.

He got up. "Look I am not in the mood. I am heading back to the farm."

Lana intercepted him. "We really need to talk about what happened yesterday."  
He looked at her, distracted. "Lana, nothing happened and it never will."

Lois followed him. "Clark, I'll come with you. I think after what has happened I should go home."

Clark drove home, his head obviously in his own world. She could see he was desperate to ask but knew he couldn't without making her suspicious.

"Lois, can I just ask? How serious is it between you and Emil? Are you sleeping with him?" He asked.

Lois gulped, shocked by his forwardness. She didn't know what to say. "Um...I don't feel comfortable talking about it."

Clark looked at her, his emotions were obviously running riot by the look on his face. "I need to know where we stand. I cannot forget what happened between us that night, but it seems you can. Did something happen?"

"No...of course not! I just don't think we will work."

He pulled over in a quiet layby. "Lois, why did you kiss me last night if you don't want it to go anywhere?" Clark asked hurtfully. "Just tell me you are not interested in me and I will back off and never mention it again."

Lois turned to him. "I...I can't."

He kissed her passionately, moving over in the seat to get closer to her. He put his mouth to her ear. "Lois, I need to know, if it is my baby you are carrying..."

She pulled away. "What makes you say I am pregnant." She asked defensively.

"Because I have seen the baby." He announced, not caring about the consequences.

"Saw it...yeah right. Clark, you are freaking me out." She announced.

"Lois, and if there is chance you are carrying my child, we need to make sure you and the baby will be fine. I have genetic issues that could affect the pregnancy."

"The baby is fine, Clark. Emil has scanned it." She replied.

"Lois, how could you tell Emil it is his baby when you know it isn't. That is not fair to him or me." Clark asked.

"He is not gullible. He knows it is not his baby."

"Oh I see and how is he accepting it?"

"Clark, my relationship with Emil is complicated."

"Well, explain it to me. I will have to accept it if you do not want to be with me, but I need to know my child. You cannot take that away from me."

Lois knew what she needed to do. "Clark, will you come with me if I arrange for Emil to meet us at the hospital. There are some things we need to discuss."

Clark was confused by the request but agreed.

Lois and Clark waited for Emil to come to the hospital.

"When did you find out?" Clark asked as they sat in his office.

"Yesterday, when I fainted in the barn." Lois replied.

Clark suddenly looked concerned. "What caused that? Are you ok?"

Lois could see the nervousness in his face and wondered if she was about to do the right thing. Time was already screwed up so what difference would it make if Clark knew about it. If she was to leave now, what would stop him going back to Lana. Lois knew she was just trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing.

"It was the green meteor rock, which affected me. But i was not near it long enough to do any damage to us." She smiled, rubbing her belly.

"You need to stay away from that stuff. It may harm the baby."

"Clark, don't worry I will never go near it again." Lois smiled.

"Where is Emil?"

Lois looked at her watch. He was due back an hour ago. "I will ring him."

She rang him but there was no answer. "That's odd, he always answers his phone without fail." Her face betrayed her concern.

"You cannot trust the Luthor's" Clark added. "I'll go and find him."

Lois placed her hand to stop him. "Clark, take me with you."

"Ok, but you will have to stay in the truck."

"Truck...you are honestly not going to drive there?

" What do you suggest I do...run?" Clark asked.

Lois smiled knowingly. "That is exactly what I am suggesting."

He picked her up and within seconds they were stood at the entrance of the cave. "How did you know?" he asked her.

"Can we talk later?" Lois asked.

He nodded and started to scan the caves. "Lana is in there with him."

Clark and Lois crept so they could see what was going on and got as close as they could without being noticed.

"Emil, how did you follow me?" Lana asked. "Did you come alone?"

"Jor-el sent me before you could change history."

"Well I am going to do it and there is not much you can do to stop it. Things should not have turned out as they did. She doesn't love Clark as much as I do."

Clark looked at Lois for her reaction.

"You need to accept that you will never break up Lois and Clark, whatever you do to them. Even in the future you created they were having an affair behind your back." He announced, deliberately trying to antagonise her.

"He wouldn't do that. As soon as I have his child, he will never cheat on me."

"Lana, I came from the horrific future you created so I know exactly what will happen." Emil said smugly before stepping forward towards the cave wall.

"What are you doing?" Lana asked, running towards him before he could activate the console.

This is the reaction he hoped for because as soon as she made contact with him, the wall lit up surrounding both of them with a beam of light. Within seconds the light had disappeared and both Emil and Lana were lying in a heap on the ground.

Lois rushed over to Emil who was beginning to stir. "Emil, are you ok?"

"Yeah fine. We need to get Lana back to the Talon before she wakes up."

She looked over to Clark. "Could you take Lana home and then meet us at the hospital?"

He nodded and sped off with her.

Lois helped a dazed Emil into his car and drove them to the hospital. "So Emil, what happened?"

"I took a chance. I contacted Lana and told her to meet me at the caves, as I believed that you and Clark were cheating on us. When she arrived I told her I was from the future and the rest you saw. It worked. Lana is back in the future and the old Lana is back with us."

"So will she remember all this."

"Hopefully not too much. We just need to convince her it was all a dream." Emil commented. "What is going on with you and Clark now?"

"I had an accident at Crater Lake and he rescued me. Whilst he was checking I was ok, he picked up the baby's heartbeat. He asked me if it was his and I told him it was. I think we need to tell him everything unless you think that will be a bad idea."

"Everything has gone haywire anyway so what difference is this going to make." Emil sighed, his head spinning from trying to calculating all the time paradoxes and probable outcomes."

She laughed. "Emil, I am sorry I have created such a problem."

They got back to the hospital to find Clark pacing up and down.

"How was she?" Lois asked concerned.

"She is asleep. She woke up and asked what was going on. I told her that I had gone to visit and found her crying out having a bad dream. What happened to Lana's memory?" Clark asked.

Emil smiled. "There are two Lana's, one from now and one from 2012. The one from 2012 came back through time to change things for her own benefit. I have sent her back to 2012."

"So how did you find out about her time travelling?" Clark asked.

"Clark, Emil and I travelled back through time as well and are inhabiting the bodies of our counterparts in this time."

He staggered back in shock. "So you are from the future?"

"Yes we are." Emil remarked.

"I thought something was different about you, Lois." He replied.

"So can you tell me about the future..." Clark asked hopefully.

Emil and Lois just looked at each other, both pondering what to say to him.

Emil looked at Clark. "We shouldn't really tell you anything."

"If you cannot tell me about the future, we need to discuss the baby. You will be aware of my powers and origins but how does it affect the baby."

"We don't know." Lois replied.

Clark was confused. "But you are from the future, you must know how things turn out with the baby"

"There is no baby in the future, Clark. Lois was not meant to get pregnant; in fact you two do not hook up for a long time yet. There is so much to happen before you get your act together."

"So now things are changed, is it not better I know what is supposed to happen so I can put things back to how they should be."

Emil shook his head. "It will never work...It will be virtually impossible for you to put things back to the original timeline. There are too many variables. I do however have a plan which could work."

"What is it?" Lois asked.

"I do not want to say until I work out the finer detail. I will meet up with you in the morning. For now, go home and talk. Lois, it does not really matter what you tell Clark. You need to trust me on this one."

"I have always trusted you." Lois replied.

Clark and Lois ran back to the farm to talk in the barn. "How are you coping with this newsflash?" Lois asked.

"It takes a bit getting your head around but I have lived in Smallville long enough to know things are not always what they seem." He joked. "Do I live in Smallville in 2012? I can never really imagine leaving the farm."

"No, we live in Metropolis to be closer to work."

"We..." He asked hopefully.

"Yeah we got married last year...sorry I mean in 2011."

"I never thought I would feel this way about anyone. You have knocked my world upside down, Lo. In a good way of course!" He smiled. "After the other night, I could only dream what it would be like to wake up to you each morning. I guess my dream comes true...eventually."

"I missed you. I think that is why I can't help myself when I am around you, no matter what time we are in." Lois admitted. "I love you so much."

"I love you too..." Clark walked up to her and cupped her chin, bringing her mouth to his. He kissed her, pushing her down on the sofa at the same time.

Later, cuddled up on the sofa, Clark pondered what was ahead for them. "You're going back aren't you?" he could see it in her eyes.

"I don't know what Emil is planning but I think I have to. He thinks he can find out a way for me to jump pregnant. You have to understand that I was not emotionally strong enough to deal with a pregnancy and baby in 2005. Taking the baby back to 2012 is the only way."

A tear appeared in his eye. "I know you have no other choice. Don't worry, look on the bright side, I still get to marry you at some point in the future and when you arrive back in 2012, I know you will be having our baby." He kissed her forehead and held her tight.

Just then they heard footsteps approaching the stairs. They jumped up knowing no one could find out about them being together.

"Hi Lois...Clark. What are you doing up here?" Chloe asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Nothing, just having another disagreement." Lois replied.

"Nothing new there." Chloe laughed. "Clark, I need you to go and talk to Lana. She is having weird flashbacks about being surrounded in lights. She is hysterical and thinks she was kidnapped by aliens. She has no memories of the past few hours."

Clark looked at Lois. "What can I do about it? Maybe she just needs some sleep and to see a doctor in the morning if she is no better."

Lois smiled. "Look Chloe, it is a bit late. See how she is in the morning and Clark can pop over and see her then."

Chloe left...

"So what are we going to do?" Clark asked. "I hope she does not remember."

"Don't worry, we can ask Emil in the morning if he can take a look at her." Lois smiled. "Now shall we hit bed? Separately of course!"

"My parents are already in bed. They will never know." Clark smiled. Before she had a chance to react, they were sitting on his bed.

Next morning Clark crept down at 5am before his parents were up, Lois appeared a few hours later for breakfast.  
Lois had forgotten to take her anti sickness meds. "Lois, you don't look too good." Martha said concerned by her colour.

Clark glared at her. "Lois, I told you not to eat that hotdog at the Lake. It looked rotten."

"Thanks for that Clark." He replied sarcastically. "It is a bit late to go on about it now." She said as she pelted to the toilet.

Clark's parents headed into town a little later that morning. Soon after Emil arrived...

"Emil... we need your help." Clark suggested. "Lana is having flashbacks of the events in the cave and I am worried she will start to put two and two together."

Emil stood at the door and smiled. "Don't worry, my colleague and I have sorted it."

"Colleague?" Clark said as a burly man walked through the door.

"Hello Kal-el. I have waited a long time to finally meet you." He said extending his hand.

Lois came from upstairs, took one look at the new arrival. It didn't take her long to work out what Emil's plan was.


	9. Chapter 9

"Jonn..." Lois hugged him. "It is so good to see you."

Jonn looked at her oddly. "I guess you are Lois Lane. We have never met before but Emil and Jor-el have explained everything to me."

"Are you Kryptonian?" Clark asked.

"No, he's a martian." Lois answered the question for Jonn. "Oh I am so sorry. I have to stop barging in."

"Kal-el, I used to work for your father before Krypton was destroyed. I was a sort of security advisor and when you came to Earth, he asked me to watch over you. I have been watching you from a distance since you arrived here."

"Are you from the future as well?" Clark asked.

"No, I am from this time. Emil tracked me down, explained everything and said he needed my help."

"How can you help?" Clark asked.

"Jonn has mind manipulation abilities. He has convinced Lana that nothing odd happened and that her flashbacks were as a result of the contaminated soda you and her drank." Emil explained. "Jor-el has suggested that the best way forward is for Jonn to manipulate your memories, Clark."

"Emil, I know Lois has to leave with the baby but I do not want my memories taken away from me."

"Clark, no matter how hard you try to keep the timeline as it was originally, you won't succeed. You and Lana are meant to date for another 2 years before you even notice Lois. Can you tell me you would go back to Lana, knowing what you know now?"

"Clark, please listen to Emil. I have tried to keep things as they should be, but it was too difficult not to interfere with how things should be." She said patting her tummy.

"I could never go back to Lana under any circumstances. I love you." Clark told Lois, the emotion evident in his face. "Ok, I'll do it but how do we know it will set timeline back to how it should be."

Jonn smiled. "I will be watching and doing what I can to guide you in the right direction. Things will not be the same as they should be, but I will try my best to limit damage."

"When will all this happen?" Clark asked.

"We should be set by the morning. Jonn has helped me with some Kryptonian stuff. The Emil and Lois from this time will have their mind altered too so they will not remember anything which could jeopardise the future." Emil explained.

It was set that Clark and Lois would meet them at the caves in the morning.

"We have one last night together before you leave. Let's make the most of it." Clark put on a brave face.

The following morning, they were woken by a knock on the bedroom door. "Lois...breakfast is ready." Martha knocked as she always did, knowing it would take Lois hours to get ready.

Clark panicked. "We'd better not let them find me here." He whispered to Lois, and he decided to climb out of the window. However he did not look and found himself face to face with his dad who happened to be walking past.

"Clark...what the hell is going on? In the house now!" His father shouted.

Lois was coming downstairs just as she saw Clark being marched in the door by Jonathan.

"Martha, I have just caught Clark coming out of the bedroom window. Now would you two mind sitting down and explaining what this is about."

They sat down. "Dad, I can explain. We love each other. It was not some fling, it was not a mistake."

"Please tell me you were careful." Jonathan demanded to know.

Lois almost said that there was not much point in being careful, as it was too late. "Of course we were." Lois protested.

"You two are to stay around the farm so we can keep an eye on you both." Jonathan said angrily. "You cannot be trusted."

Lois looked at him and saw the stress, which would eventually kill him. "Jonathan, we need to go out."

"Lois, whilst you live under this roof, you abide by our rules." His dad continued. "You are too young to be involved in such a serious relationship."

Martha was trying to calm her husband down. "Shall we sit down and talk about this like adults."

There was a beep from Clark's phone. He read the message and looked at his parents. "I am sorry but there is somewhere we need to be." He scooped Lois up and sped to the caves.

Jonn and Emil were already waiting for them. "Ok, we need to move fast." Emil said. "Lionel Luthor has some specialists coming to examine the caves later on. Lois, we need to go now. Jonn will deal with everything when we have jumped."

Lois ran up to Clark. "I love you Clark. See you in 2012."

"I will be waiting. I love you too." He kissed her one last time.

Lois started to cry. Emil grabbed her hand, taking her to the console. He put his hand out and activated it, surrounding them in a beam of light.

Lois felt some movement. She closed her eyes. A few seconds later she woke up to find herself in a large bed. It was bigger than any bed she had ever seen, and she was lying in silk sheets, surrounded by rose petals.

She heard a familiar voice approaching the bed. "Lois, I want our first time to be special."

"Oliver..." She cried out.

Lois grabbed the sheet and got out of the bed. "Ollie, can you give me a few minutes."

Luckily she saw the bathroom door open and headed to there. She did not know where she had landed. The last thing she expected was to wake up in Oliver's bed. Why would it be this way in 2012? Where was Clark?

She waited for the memories to download into her head from the bits of her life she had missed, as they had when she jumped last time. In a few seconds they started...

_This was May 2007 and she had just entered into a relationship with Oliver who she had met through his connections with Jonathan Kent. For some reason, Jonathan was still alive and was Senator of Kansas. Lois had never transferred to Metropolis University, choosing to stay at Washington DC University._

She was about to complete her degree in journalism and had secured a job at the Daily Planet starting after the Summer. Lois had not seen Clark since she left Smallville a few days after the jump occurred. In fact she had heard from Jonathan and Martha, who she met every so often in Washington DC, that he had decided to take a gap year before Uni and travel around the world. He had been away for over two years now and they did not know when he would be back. 

Lois processed all the information that was flooding into her head. Clark had left Smallville a few weeks after she jumped. She needed to know why and wondered if the travelling story was a front for something else.

She was thrilled that Jonathan was alive and well. The last time she had seen them was when they had found out about her and Clark. This had never been mentioned again luckily because the other Lois would not have a clue what they were talking about if Jonn had done his job properly. She needed to find out more, but more urgently she needed to escape the advances of Oliver. She could not blame the other Lois for falling for his charms.

Lois needed to find out why she had jumped to 2007 instead of 2012. Hopefully Emil would be able to tell her if he had jumped too, but in any case she needed to fly back to Metropolis and confront Jonn Jones.

She remembered she was in Oliver's apartment in Star City. He had taken her there to celebrate her last term paper of the course. She had to think quickly to get out of her predicament but suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the heaving of her stomach. She threw up in the toilet. In the haze of jumping she had forgotten the baby. She had never felt so happy to see her bloated stomach and to feel nauseous again. The baby must have come with her.

"Lois, are you ok?" A concerned Oliver shouted through the door.

She noticed the phone on the side of the sink. "I have just had a worrying call from Chloe back in Smallville. She needs me to come back immediately but won't say why. I will have to fly to Metropolis tonight."

"Ok, i'll come with you. We'll take the jet."

"No, Ollie. It's fine. I can just get a regular flight."

"Lois, you are obviously upset and I am not going to let you go alone."

Lois came out, looking preoccupied. "Sorry about this, Ollie."

"It's ok." He kissed her on the forehead. "I understand. I can take a rain check."

Oliver had always been a sweet man and she hated to hurt him like this, but there is no way she would betray Clark.

A limo took them to the airplane. One of the perks of having billions was bypassing airport security and waiting in long queues.

Whilst Ollie was taking a business call, she texted Chloe to ask her to cover for her on arrival back in Smallville. Chloe said she would come up with something .

Within four hours they were entering Smallville in a limo. They headed straight to the Talon where an anxious Chloe was waiting for Lois.

She hugged Lois tightly and whispered in her ear. "You owe me one."

"So Chloe, what's wrong?"

Chloe put on some pretend sobs. "I think Jimmy is cheating on me with someone at the Planet."

Oliver's phone rang. "I just have to do some business in Metropolis." Lois knew he had probably had a call from another superhero in Metropolis saying they needed the help of Green Arrow. "Will you be ok if I come and see you in the morning."

"Jimmy is coming over later and I want to have it out with him, so Lois may be staying at the Kent's." Chloe announced emotionally.

"I'll call you later." He told Lois.

As soon as he left. "Lois, what is going on? You have one of the cutest richest men in the US at your beck and call and you have commitment issues. I thought you really liked him."

"Chloe, he will always be one of my dearest friends but he is not the one." Lois replied.

Lois smiled at Chloe "You had better tell Jimmy what you said about him. Not that he would ever cheat on you." There was a knock at the door.

"I have just seen a limo drive off. What was all that about?" Jimmy asked curiously.

"I will leave you to it. Chloe, I am borrowing your car"  
As soon as Lois had left the building, she drove to a nearby picnic spot. She dialled the Met PD. "Can I speak to Detective John Jones?"

"Hi Jonn. It's Lois. Can you meet me at Larkwood Picnic Area."

She didn't even get an answer before she felt a gust of wind behind her. "Hi Lois. What happened?"

"I was assuming you could tell me. I was expecting to land in 2012 but I arrived 5 years early." She smiled. "What has happened since I left?"

Jonn looked at her. "Things did not go as planned..."

"What do you mean? What happened? Is Clark ok?" Lois asked in a panic.

Jonn smiled. "Clark is fine."

"Don't keep me hanging on." She asked impatiently.

"Ok, after you left Clark, the original Lois and Emil in the cave, I did my mind tricks on Emil and Lois, returning them to the hospital and Kent Farm. However when it came around to Clark's turn, it didn't work. I have never tried it on a Kryptonian with powers before."

"So what does that mean? Does he remember everything."

"Yes he does." Jonn replied.

"So where is he?"

"He is in stasis at the Fortress completing his training. He has been there for over two years. When you jumped, he tried to get back to his normal life but couldn't. He asked if I could help him find the stones so he could activate the Fortress and after talking with Jor-el, he decided the best option was to go into training. "

"So how does this make me stop in 2007?"

As you know Jor-el is able to cross time lines and he knew that things were going wrong again in 2012, and he identified the trigger point for the turn of events as happening in the next few weeks."

"Kal-el wanted you brought to 2007 to make sure you were safe."

"So when is Clark going to be out of the fortress?"

"At 10am tomorrow. He has completed his training now and is going to try and stop the future turning out the way it does."

Lois was excited. "Well I had better get to the farm. Do the Kent's know anything about this?"

"I have developed a close relationship with the Kents over the past two or so years and have kept them updated with Clark's progress. He has been unable to contact them himself due to the isolation and discipline required during training."

"I guess they don't know about me considering the memories I have of meeting them over the past few years. I am going to see them now."

Jonn told Lois he would come and see Kal-el in a few days after he had settled in to his human life again. She headed to the farm.

It was getting late by the time she arrived, but luckily Martha was still up.

"Lois. Why didn't you tell me you were coming? It is so good to see you." She hugged Lois tightly.

"I hate to impose but I have just got into town and the Talon is full. Can I stay?"

Martha smiled at her. "Lois, you know you will always be welcome here. This is your home anytime you want. I have missed having you around."

She made them both a coffee. "So how are things?"

Lois smiled. "They are fine. I have just handed my last paper in so hopefully I will soon be on my way to the Daily Planet. Perry says he has full confidence in my ability to pass the course."

"That's great honey! And to make things even more interesting for you, I hear you and Oliver Queen are getting quite serious." Martha asked.

Lois paused for a moment. "Not really. It is a long and complicated story that I will tell you sometime when it is not so late at night."

"So how are you and Jonathan?" Lois changed the subject.

"We are ok. We miss Clark like crazy and wish he would come back home." Martha admitted with tears in her eyes.

Lois held Martha's hand. "Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this but Clark is coming home tomorrow."

Martha's face lit up but then looked confused. "Honey, how do you know?"

"As experienced reporters like to say, I have my sources."

Martha smiled. "I don't really need to know. God...I'd better tell Jonathan. What time is he coming?"

"He isn't coming until 10am."

"I am getting really curious how you know this."

"I'm psychic." Lois joked. "No seriously, let's get some sleep and talk about it in the morning."

Lois could not sleep that night. She tossed and turned, thinking about seeing Clark. Although she only saw him yesterday, albeit in the past, she missed him like crazy. She was so tied up in the thoughts that she suddenly remembered that she forgot to ask Jonn about Emil and his whereabouts.

Next morning, both Martha and Jonathan were up at the crack of dawn. Lois joined them for breakfast.

"Morning Lois." Jonathan got up and hugged her.

"Hi Jonathan. It is great to see you." She held him for ages, still thrilled at finding out he was alive in this timeline. He actually looked very healthy.

"How are you keeping?" she asked him.

"I'm doing great, even better if your source is accurate about Clark coming home." Jonathan said. "Maybe we should go and pick him up at the airport."

"You don't have to cover. I know he will not be landing at Metropolis." She winked at him.

Jonathan was speechless. "Even if we asked, you wouldn't tell, would you?"

"Not until Clark comes back." She smiled.

At 8am there was a knock on the door. Martha went to answer it. "Dr Hamilton!" she exclaimed as she opened the door.

Lois turned around and just knew it was future Emil. He must have jumped.

She ran over and hugged him. "It's great to see you."

"Can I have a word with you?" Emil asked her. "I don't mean to be rude, Mr and Mrs Kent but I need to discuss something quickly."

They left Clark's parents trying to work out what the hell was going on.

They headed over to the barn. "What is it? Are you ok? I was worried you had jumped into the future." Lois hugged Emil again.

"I did jump into the future Lois, and believe me it was a terrifying experience. " he replied with a serious tone.

"What was wrong? Don't tell me Lana was still in Smallville?"

"Lois, there was no Smallville. In fact there was not much left of Kansas to speak of..."


	10. Chapter 10

"My god, are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Jor-el transported me back here as soon as he could."

"So what happened?"

"World War 3 is what happened. Sometime in the next few weeks, Lana finds out Clark's true identity and the whereabouts of the Fortress. She then tells her husband... Lex Luthor."

Emil continued. "Lex uses this knowledge to attack Clark at the Fortress, whilst he is vulnerable. He dies and there is no one to stop Lex from taking over the US and leading us right into an apocalyptic future three years from now. "

Lois was horrified. "But surely now Clark knows about it and is coming home, it should set things back the way it was."

"It might, it might not. We cannot take the risk of Lana finding out in case Lex finds some other way of destroying Clark."

"So we need to find out how Lana finds out."

"It has something to do with Chloe but we do not know exactly. Clark has never found out if Chloe knows about him. We can assume she does and somehow unwittingly told Lana about it."

"Chloe would never betray Clark."

"I know that but something happened." Emil replied. "Are you still pregnant?"

"Yes, as far as I know. I have the same symptoms and I am still struggling keeping my jeans fastened." She smiled.

"I will scan you this afternoon."

"Great, Clark can come and see the baby."

"Lois, do you think it is wise getting him too attached, knowing you will be leaving him again."

Lois smiled at him and replied with certainty. "I won't be leaving him. I am staying in 2007 if that is what he wants. The future will be changed beyond all recognition anyway so I am going to stay and make up a new future with Clark and the baby. I promise I will try and make it a good one for when you go back to 2012."

Emil nodded. "I thought you would decide to do that."

They headed back into the house. "So Emil, what brings you to the farm?" Jonathan asked wondering if this had anything to do with Clark returning.

"I came to see Lois."

Martha cooked breakfast for them all. Just as they sat down to eat, the door opened. "Is there any for me. I have really missed your cooking, mom."

Clark was soon surrounded by his parents. Lois stood back and waited for them to greet him.

"We missed you, son." Jonathan and Martha were crying with happiness.

"I missed you both so much. I just wish I could have talked to you sometimes."

After a while they backed off. Clark made eye contact with Lois who was waiting at the end of the hall. His face lit up as he ran and picked her up, swinging her around. He kissed her passionately not caring who was watching. Eventually their lips parted and they turned around to see the very muddled looks from his parents.

Jonathan looked at Emil and Lois uncomfortably. It was obvious he wanted them to leave so they could talk.

Clark picked up on it and smiled at his dad. "It's ok. Emil knows everything, so does Lois."

Jonathan looked even more confused. "This is complicated. Why am I the last person to know what is going on around here?"

"Let's have some breakfast." Martha headed to the table.

"I hope Jonn has been keeping you up to date with things. " Clark commented."

His mom smiled. "Yes, he has been a regular visitor. How long are you back for?"

"Forever. I have completed my training. I see things so clearly now and know what I am doing with life." Even Lois could see how much Clark had grown up; in fact he reminded her of the Clark she had married.

There was yet another surprise visitor. "Oliver Queen." Jonathan shook his hand. "Come in...we should have a party." He joked.

Oliver saw Lois and smiled, then he noticed Clark. "I'm sorry I did not know that your son was home. I just came to see my girlfriend." He announced.

Clark looked at Lois and got up. "Hi, I'm Clark Kent."  
"Nice to meet you. Did you have a nice time travelling?"

"Yes thanks. I learnt so much." Clark replied.

The expression on Clark's parents face said it all. Lois wondered what they were making of her circus of boyfriends descending on the farm.

Jonathan laughed. "Lois, you are popular this morning."

She got up. "Can we talk outside?"

Once outside Oliver looked at her with concern. "What's bothering you?"

She took a deep breath. "Ollie, I love you dearly as a friend, but I cannot lie to you. I am in love with someone else. It is not fair to either of us to continue this relationship. I would like to stay friends." She explained.

Ollie looked devastated, making Lois feel worse. She had already been through this once in the previous timeline, and to have to do it again was just heartbreaking. "I am so sorry."

"Lois, I don't think I can do this friend thing." He replied sadly. "I will be flying back to Star City and will not bother you again." He skulked off.

Lois went back in the house, upset. Clark got up and hugged her, knowing what she had just done. "It's ok, Lo. I'm here." He whispered in her ear.

Emil decided to excuse himself too. "Well, I need to head back to the hospital. I will see you later." He nodded at Lois.

So it was just Lois, Clark and his parents. "Ok, What is going on?" his dad asked.

"Lois knows everything about me, and we are together. There is more but I won't bore you with all the details at the moment. I just want to get used to being back." Clark explained.

Lois looked at him, wondering what the next few weeks held for them, but for now she was just enjoying having Clark back...

Lois could hear Jonathan talking to his parents. She was snuggled up with Clark in the lounge watching a DVD.

"Clark..." she whispered. "We are going to have to tell them. They think I am the town bike."

He looked at her and laughed. "Well I don't know what you have been up to since I left."

"Considering I only left you yesterday...not much, although I did jump to find myself in Oliver's bed. And I am not being held responsible for what 2004 Lois did after I left."

He kissed the end of her nose. "I know that, Lo. I have actually missed Jaws; in fact I missed everything, but you the most."

"So getting back to the problem, what do we tell them?" Lois asked.

"How about we tell them about you being a time traveller but leave out the bit about the baby until we go for the scan this afternoon." Clark suggested.

"Good thinking, Smallville." Lois smiled.

"Mom, dad...could we have a talk?"

His parents came through and sat down on the other chair.

Clark began the tale. "Do you notice anything different about Lois?"

His dad cleared his throat. "Yes we do but it is a bit embarrassing to mention."

Lois laughed. "I know what you are thinking about my parade of boyfriends this morning. Truth is I have only dated Clark."

Martha looked. "I am confused, so what was Emil all about."

"Ok, here goes..." Clark sat back and told them about Lois travelling back to 2004 and then having to stop in 2007 because 2012 was not the way it should be. Lois explained why the Lois they had known for the past three years acted differently.

His parents had heard a lot of bizarre stories over the years but this topped them all. "So you are from 2012 and you arrived in this time yesterday."

Lois smiled. "Yeah basically but I am in 2007 Lois's body so I don't look any different."

"So if there is a risk of Armageddon if Lex takes over as President and we need to stop it." Martha repeated.

"Yeah, that's right." Lois said.

"So when did all this start between you and Lois?" Jonathan asked.

"It's complicated." Lois grinned. "In my original time I started to date Clark in 2009 and we got married in 2011. When I went back to 2004, I fell in love with Clark all over again."

Clark continued the story. "I went into training because when Lois jumped from 2004 to this time, I could not bear to live without her and knowing Jor-el had good motives, it made sense to trust him. I missed you both but I needed to go at some point."

"Your father and I were just commenting how much you have changed over the past two years. You have grown into the man we always knew you would be." Martha announced proudly.

"Emil is part of the act. He jumped with Lois. However Oliver is a different story and I need to go and talk to him. In the original timeline Lois and Oliver dated for a while."

"I must admit I was getting worried about your change of lifestyle." Jonathan laughed.

"There will only ever be one person for me." Lois kissed Clark again.

"Are you okay with this?" Clark asked.

"Give us a chance to get used to it." Martha smiled. "And we will be fine."

"We need to pop out for a while if you don't mind." Clark announced. "We will be back in a few hours."

They went off to the hospital. "Hi Emil."

"Hi, so how is it to be back?" Emil asked.

"Great... although it could take a bit of getting used to. Lois has just popped off to the ladies room."

When she got back, Lois got on the examination bed and waited for Emil to set up the equipment. He pointed at the small circle on the screen. "There he or she is."

"Is everything ok?" Lois asked desperate for reassurance.

"You are almost 7 weeks pregnant by the measurements, or 3 years if you go by Clark's timeframe." He laughed. "I would make sure that you stay away from green kryptonite. It definitely had an effect on you when you were exposed to it. There is also a chance you may develop some degree of powers from the baby but there is no way of telling at the moment. We just have to wait and see."

When they were finished, they decided to meet with Emil and Jonn tomorrow to discuss what could be done about Lana and Lex.

As they were leaving, Emil reminded Clark. "I think you need to speak to Chloe today and see if she does know about your powers. It might give us some clues about how Lana did find out about it."

Clark nodded and left.

"Lois, do you mind dropping me at the Talon? I will have a word with Chloe. No time like the present."

"Why don't you run?" she joked.

"I thought we could take a detour on the way there." He winked leaving Lois in no doubt what he meant. She pulled off the road, down a quiet track...

Eventually Lois pulled the truck up outside the Talon and kissed him before he got out. "Are you going to run home?"

"No I thought I might fly." He replied with a grin.

"You can fly? You didn't master that until our honeymoon."

"Jor-el taught me how to clear my mind and to concentrate on flying. It worked."

"Clark, can you humour me?" She reached into her bag and pulled out some glasses. "Wear these! Don't let anyone see you without them except me and your parents."

He looked at her as though she had two heads. "Where did these come from?"

"Emil gave them to me. Just trust me on this one. You look very cute in them"

"How do you know? I haven't put them on yet."

"But when you do, you will look cute." She kissed him.

Clark walked in the Talon, only to be greeted by the sight of Lana and Lex drooling over one another at the door.

"Lana, Lex..." Clark said.

Lana's jaw almost hit the floor in shock. "Clark...you look so different with those glasses on."

Lex smiled. "So the prodigal Clark Kent returns. How long has it been?"

"Over two years." He smiled politely back.

"So what are you doing here?" Lana asked.

"I have come to catch up with Chloe." He said, just as he heard a loud excited shriek from the stairs at the back of the Talon.

"Clark, you're back..." Chloe grinned.

Lex and Lana left. Chloe ran over and hugged Clark.

"When did you get back? Why didn't you say you were coming?" Chloe asked.

"Can we talk upstairs?" He asked his friend.

She smiled, grabbed his arm and led him upstairs where she hugged him again. "Did you have fun travelling around the world?" She smiled and then winked at him.

He looked at her. "Are you ok, Chloe? I need to talk to you about where I have been. You may need to sit down."

She sat down, still with that excited look on her face. "I am so excited you are back. I have missed you loads."

"Ok Chloe, I have not been travelling." He said seriously.

She winked again. "Of course you have Clark."

"Have you been drinking or taking some kind of illegal substance? You seem a little high on something."

"No, I am sober. " She got up and got a large folded piece of paper.

"I have been tracking you around the globe." Chloe opened the paper to reveal a map of the world with lines documenting a trip around the world. In addition there were bits of paper detailing flights, hotels and itinerary.

"Chloe, what is this?" he was shocked and wondered what all this was.

"I was contacted two years ago by a certain police detective from Met PD, or should I say intergalactic travel from Mars. Jonn filled me in on your origins and the need to go and train with your father." Chloe explained, much to Clark's shock.

"So it must have been a shock for you."

"No, I already knew there was something special about you, although I must admitted I thought you were meteor infected. The outer space connection was unexpected."

"So you did all this for me?" He asked.

"Yeah. I would do anything to help you. Anyway it helped keep up the pretence of your travels. So how was your training?"

"Amazing. I can fly now."

"Whoa...I knew you had powers but flying knocks it out of the ball park." Chloe gasped. "Any chance of a flight sometime?" She asked.

"Of course! So does this mean Lex or Lana will never be able to track where I have been." He said deciding not to go into details of time travel because he had a feeling that she did not know about it.

"Lana has constantly asked where you are. She is married to Lex but she never got over your break up." Chloe added.

He smiled. "The marriage is a bad move on her part but it does not affect me if she will stay away. I don't love her."

"Oh, it must have been so lonely up in the Arctic." Chloe suggested.

"Actually not too bad! I was kept busy and time at the Fortress is different to Earth time and the two Earth years only equated to 6 months in Fortress time."

Just then there was a knock at the door. Chloe opened it and revealed an eager looking Jimmy wearing a long trench coat. Before he noticed Clark was there he flung the coat open revealing literally nothing, well in respect of clothes anyway.

"Jimmy, I have company." Chloe made faces at him, directing him to Clark.

Clark was looking anywhere but towards the door. "I am so sorry, I will go."

Jimmy closed his coat and ushered past Chloe. "Hello, we haven't met before." He thrusted his hand in Clark's direction. "You're Clark...right. Chloe has told me about you." There was such resentment in Jimmy's voice.

"Hi Jimmy. You must be Chloe's..."

"...boyfriend." Jimmy was acting all territorial. Clark realised he must have thought there was something between him and Chloe.

"I guessed that." Clark smiled. Jimmy tried to squeeze his hand very tightly but did not succeed in making any headway.

"Anyway it seems I am disturbing you guys. I will talk to you later." Clark announced.

He could hear Chloe telling Jimmy off through the door and knew he had to reassure him that he did not have any designs on his girlfriend. However he was able to go public with his relationship with Lois because she would be leaving again to travel forward to time when the future was sorted again.

That thought made him upset so he put it to the back of his mind and decided to concentrate on the matters at hand.

Clark ran home and shocked his parents when he came in the door. "What's with the glasses?" his mom asked.

"Lois asked me to wear them and asked me to trust her. Where is she by the way?"

"She went for a lie down. I am a little worried. She looks peaky and I was wondering if the time travel was affecting her. Maybe you need to talk to Emil about it." Martha explained.

Clark guessed it was the pregnancy so he went up to see Lois to ask if she was ok. "I'll go and pop in on her."

He pushed the door open. "Hi Lo." He could see she was awake.

"Sorry Clark. I am just so tired?"

"Is it the baby?"

"Maybe partly but I think it is due to the jetlag from all the time travelling. Are we going to tell your parents tonight?" she smiled.

"If you think we should. It is your call." He kissed her.

"I have been thinking about it. Let's leave it a week or so." She suggested.

"Should we be telling them anyway when you will be leaving at some point and taking the baby with you." He said, sadness evident in his voice.

She looked at him, caressing his cheek. "If it is ok with you, I am not going to jump anymore. I am staying with you and we can raise the baby together if that is what you want."

"You're kidding, that would be unbelievable. I love you Lois Lane."

"Lois Lane Kent, if you don't mind"

"I guess we will have to do something about that in future." Clark grinned.

"There is no rush. You don't propose for another 3 years, so relax"

But Clark had other ideas...


	11. Chapter 11

Lois and Clark headed down to dinner with their hands full of bedding for Clark's impending night on the sofa.

"Could you please take that stuff back upstairs?" Jonathan said sternly.

They turned around and did as they were told, looking at each other for possible answers. When they got back downstairs, his dad was sat at the table with one of those 'we need to talk' looks on his face. They sat down and waited for the ensuing lecture.

"Ok...Your mom and I have talked and we are not happy for you to sleep on the sofa, Clark."

Clark looked at them. "Is this in case we sneak around? I promise we won't. I don't have to sleep in the barn do I?"

His mom and dad started to laugh. "No we thought you would sleep in your room with Lois but if you don't want to, that's fine."

"Of course we do. What's with the sudden u-turn in morals?" Clark asked.

"Don't question it, otherwise we may just change our mind." Martha smiled.

"Thanks, Martha, Jonathan. It means a lot."

"We trust you to be careful." Jonathan had to get his lecture in at some point.

Clark and Lois just smiled, not wanting to lie. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. It was Jonn.

"Come in." Martha smiled.

"Hi." He said to everyone sitting at the table.

"How are you settling in Clark?" he asked.

"Fine, thanks. It may take a bit adjusting to life back in Smallivlle. So do we know anything more about how Lex and Lana find out?"

"We think things may have changed again and the events Emil saw may not happen. Whatever you said to Chloe today has made a difference." Jonn smiled. "It should be safe for Lois to jump back to 2012."

Lois had not yet told Jonn yet about her decision not to go back to 2012. Clark was going to tell Jor-el first.

Clark headed to the Fortress later that evening and when he returned he looked preoccupied and somewhat upset. "What's wrong?" Lois asked him as they lay in bed that night.

"Nothing, I just had a bit of a disagreement with my father. He is not happy that I told my parents about your time travel." He paused. "Would you mind if we talk about it in the morning?"

"Of course. " She kissed him, and they went to sleep. Something was wrong with Clark and she was not entirely sure she was getting the whole story from him.

When Lois woke the following morning, Clark was already gone. She headed downstairs to see Martha making breakfast. "Morning, honey."

"Hi, where is Clark?"

"He said something about meeting Emil at the caves. He asked if you could meet him there when you woke up." She explained.

"Okay...I will go there now." She went up to get dressed quickly and then drove to the caves.

There was no longer security there as the Luthor's had given the land back to the Native American Indians as a part of a massive publicity stunt.

She climbed down and started to approach the caves. "Hello..." she shouted out.

Emil emerged from the caves, worry evident on his face. "Hi Lois. Clark has disappeared into the cave wall and I need your help to try to find him."

Lois was panicking. What she did not see was Clark hiding around the corner with tears in his eyes. "Goodbye Lois, see you sometime in the future." He whispered to himself.

The moment Lois touched the wall, she was surrounded by a now familiar light. She managed to catch a glimpse of Clark, watching her jump from one of the corners of the cave...

Lois closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen. The movement stopped and before she opened her eyes, she sneezed from all the dust she could smell.

"Lois, dressed up as a French maid. I have seen everything now. Is that what Clark likes?" A familiar voice behind her announced. "What are you doing here in my mansion?"

Lois did not turn around until she could process her memories and find out when she was. She remembered everything...

_It was September 2008 and Clark and Lex had both been missing for a few weeks. After Lois jumped in May 2007, original Lois had become a reporter at the Daily Planet basement as planned, and Clark had spent most of the year trying to deal with his wayward cousin, Kara and Lex's interest in her. Martha and Jonathan had left Smallville and headed to DC full time so Jonathan could concentrate on fighting for re-election into the Senate a few months from now. On Valentine's Day that year, Clark had asked Lois out but she had rejected his advances for 3 months due to her fear of getting hurt, until she finally accepted a date on Clark's birthday in May. Things had been progressing slowly due to Clark's preoccupation with something, but original Lois never found out what was bothering him. Clark still had not told the original Lois his secret._

"Lana... I thought you would be looking for your husband. Isn't he missing?" Lois commented

"He is, but I have a team scouring the Arctic for him. It is a little too cold up there for me." Lana sneered back. "but that does still not answer my question about why you are trespassing."

"I thought I would investigate Lex's disappearance." Lois explained.

"You mean you are still trying to bring down the Luthor's good name by investigating my family."

Lois smiled. "Guess it is true what people say – once a Luthor, always a Luthor!"

"Nothing wrong with that. You are just jealous. Do you know I am set to inherit the whole Luthor empire if Lex is not found alive."

"You really are the concerned and devoted wife, aren't you?"

"Well at least I have a man who loves me. I heard Clark has run out on you. "Lana laughed.

"No, he has just gone to see his parents in Washington DC."

"He has been gone for over 2 weeks. If he does come back, please tell him to come and see me. He may have clues to Lex's whereabouts, as it seems he was the last one to see him alive."

Just then the phone rang. "Ms Mercer, you had better have some news for me." Lana spat down the phone, just as security arrived to usher Lois off the premises.

Lois got in her car and drove off to find Emil so they could track Clark down. She needed to know why Clark had tricked her into jumping...

Lois headed back to the Talon to get changed quickly. The maid outfit was very impractical not to mention uncomfortable.

She rang the hospital and discovered Emil had left a few months back to take up a private job with Oliver Queen as his personal physician. She headed off to see Oliver in Metropolis. He had moved there recently, but she had to move quickly because by her calculations he would be leaving soon to head up to the Arctic to find Clark with the rest of the team.

She headed up to his penthouse apartment wondering what sort of reception she would get. Oliver and Lois had not really been close since she started dating, or at least that is what Lois gleamed from her recently acquired memories from the original Lois.

She was shocked when the door lift opened and she noticed Oliver slumped on a sofa in the corner.

"Oliver!" she shouted worried he was hurt, but she soon smelt the alcohol fumes and noticed the almost empty bottle of bourbon on the floor.

He stirred at the sound of her voice.

"What are you doing?" Lois asked. "You know that alcohol doesn't agree with you."

He opened his eyes. "Spare me the lecture." He slurred.

"I will go and get you a coffee." She smiled as she headed to the kitchen.

Minutes later she was back with the strongest coffee he would tolerate. "Drink this." She said as she shoved the cup under his nose.

"I feel sick." He looked as though he was about to heave.

"Just try and sit up." Lois persevered. She grabbed his hand to give him some help.

Eventually he was sitting on one side of the chair, with Lois next to him. He started looking at her with that lost puppy look. "So Lois, why are you here?"

He moved towards her, making her move away. "Ollie, I am not here for that. You know I am dating Clark." He said firmly.

"What has he got that I haven't...let me guess..." Lois realised he was about to blurt out Clark's secret.

"Ollie, I don't want to hear it. Loose lips, sink ships." She placed her finger across his lips.

He realised his mistake. "I am sorry." He took a sip of the coffee, screwing his face immediately.

"I am looking for Emil." Lois explained. "The hospital said he was working for you now."

"He is in Star City at the moment but said he would be flying back tomorrow." He replied, starting to come around a little.

"When did you start battling your demons again?"

"I never really stopped but I went back on the drink after you made it clear there was never going to be anything between us and that was 27 days ago I believe." He looked sad.

"Oliver, it would never work. I love Clark and nothing will ever change that. One of these days you will be happy, I promise but your future is not with me."

Oliver looked angry. "Clark has virtually ignored you over the past three months."

"He has been pre-occupied."

"I would always put you first. I will be honest with you, not like Clark."

"Ollie, it is the drink talking. Clark has always kept secrets for a reason and I will respect that. Even if I was not with Clark, we would not work out."

"Oliver, how is your search for Clark and Chloe going?"

"What search?"

"You do know Clark is missing and Chloe is supposedly in DDS custody."

"And why would I look for them? Is it because I am rich and you think I have loads of resources at my disposal.?" He replied.

Lois snapped. She knew Ollie and the team were the only ones who could get Clark back safely, especially if he was powerless like he had been in the original timeline.

"Cut the bull! How many times has Clark saved your life over the past few years. Stop wallowing in self pity. If you don't go and find him, I will."

Oliver suddenly started to take notice. "He could be anywhere. He had disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Don't ask how I know, but he is probably in Verkhoyansk, Russia." Lois stated.

"How..."

"Oliver, he needs you and the team to bring him back. He may not have his powers." She explained concerned by Oliver's apparent lack of interest.

"You know..."

"Oliver, I know absolutely everything about Clark and his Kryptonian father has probably taken his powers off him so Lex could not get any control over him."

"Where is Lex?"

"He is missing, presumed dead." Lois added.

"How do you know this?"

"I will explain everything but I need you to get him back." Her eyes were pleading with him.

He paused. "Ok, I will contact some friends to help."

"Thanks!"

"What about Chloe?"

"She is most likely at Black Creek Research Facility in Montana, being held by Luthorcorp. Why don't you get Clark and then rescue her on the way back."

Oliver looked at her. "Why is it I get the feeling that you have been through all this before."

"I'd better not answer that question." She smiled.

Lois went back to the Talon to sleep before she headed back to Oliver's the following morning to wait for Emil.

"Dinah, AC and Bart are here." Oliver explained, as she arrived.

A while later, Emil arrived.

Lois ran over to him. "Is it you?"

He smiled. "Yep, it's me...Lois. I cannot believe we ended up here. That was not the plan!"

"When Oliver and the team leaves, I want a full explanation of what happened back in 2007." She looked at him.

Emil suddenly looked very apprehensive...

The team flew off to Russia, leaving a very anxious Emil in the hands of Lois.

"So Emil. What went wrong?"

"Firstly Lois. I am not taking all the blame. You can take it up with Clark when he gets back." He announced trying to take some of the heat off himself.

"I'm waiting." He tapped her finger on the table impatiently.

"Ok...Jor-el told Clark that the baby was in danger because Lionel was constructing a kryptonite cage to trap the Traveller in. He was worried you would try and rescue him and the baby would come to harm. The plan was for us to jump back to 2012. Clark was devastated when he came to see me after his father dropped the bombshell, but he knew there was little choice."

"So why are we here?" Lois asked.

"I can only think that history changed again when Oliver decided not to rescue Clark. But you may have changed all that by giving Oliver a piece of your mind. Talking about punishments, I am ready for mine." He closed his eyes.

Lois grabbed his head, and kissed him on the cheek. Emil's eyes flew open. "What was that for?"

"For being there for me all the way through this. I haven't forgotten that your life has been screwed up by all of this. Speaking of that, I heard Lana getting a phone call off Tess when I was at the mansion yesterday."

Emil smiled. "I don't think I would get on with Tess from this time. Maybe I should dress up as Elvis and woo her. It worked last time."

"I think she would not appreciate that in 2008, give her a few years and you might get somewhere." Lois laughed but then realised Clark was still in danger. "I hope they get Clark back ok. He needs to go to Black Creek and then get shot by Oliver. As much as I hate the thought of him being shot with arrows again, I know we need to try and get history back to where it was. We don't seem to be doing too badly."

"I suppose not. How is your pregnancy going?" Emil asked.

"Fine, I am still bloated. This is going to be the world's longest pregnancy."

"It must be so strange for you."

"Not really, it must be worse for Clark. To me time passes normally but he goes years without a pregnant girlfriend." She commented.

Meanwhile the team arrived in Russia and drove into town. Oliver told the other members to stay back unless things went wrong. He was posing as Roy Connor, a dodgy businessman trying to buy some black market good from the Russian Mafia boss that had Clark. It didn't take long to see his old friend, lifting crates on a lorry. It was obvious he did not have his powers because he was sweating and struggling to lift them. Oliver entered the yard.  
Lois was sleeping when Emil went into her room and switched her light on. "Lois, wake up. We have a problem."

She stirred and then realised what was going on . "What's happened."

"The team have set off the emergency beacon. Jonn cannot go until tomorrow as he tied up on police business he cannot get out of without blowing his cover.

"Ok, we'll go." She announced determinedly as she got up.

"How do you suggest we do that? Oliver only has one jet and it would take hours for it to come back and get us."

"Emil, I have not been completely honest with you. I developed Clark's abilities a few days ago and not just one, all of them at once."

"You mean we can run."

"I was thinking more of flying. You know women learn faster than men." She boasted. "Only thing is my directional control is not good yet and I will not get to Russia without you telling me how to get there."

"I will grab my GPS system." He smiled, looking forward to this.

Oliver sat in the cell. AC, Bart and Dinah were being held elsewhere. They were limited by what they could do without Clark to break them out. At the moment he was powerless and unconscious on the floor having been knocked out by a gun butt from one of the guards.

He came round after ten minutes and accepted Oliver's offer to help him up.

"Are you ok? Clark." Oliver asked.

"Yeah, just got a raging headache. I am sorry I got you all dragged into all this. I just can't work out how an ice fortress disappears into thin air?

" It all must be part of my father's plan. And as it turns out, his idea of controlling me was taking away my powers." Clark continued.

"Hmm. It's better than Lex walking around with a remote control to a Clark-bot."

" Lex was there. He knows everything. He knows my secret."

"Well, Clark, Lex may be tenacious, but there's no way he survived that." Oliver replied.

"I did... without my abilities."

"After the avalanche, did you see anything?" Oliver asked.

There was so much wind and snow, I could barely see two feet in front of me. I started hiking. I went as long as I could, and then... the next thing I know, I woke up on a fishing boat in the middle of the Arctic Ocean."

"Clark, you might have died. In fact if Lois hadn't told me where you were, things could have turned out differently."

Clark's eyes lit up. "Lois? What does she have to about all this?"

"I don't know to be honest. She turned up at my penthouse yesterday and told me where we would find you. She seemed different somehow."

He grinned. "She's back."

Oliver was confused. "I didn't know she had been away anywhere." He said but then became distracted by the guards outside chatting in Russian.

"Clark, the guards have just said we are to die in two hours...by firing squad." Oliver gulped...


	12. Chapter 12

Emil had narrowed down the emergency beacon to a jail outside the small town. Lois put him down as they crept into some nearby bushes.

"What can you see?" he asked Lois.

She scanned the buildings and found several people. She was having trouble differentiating guards and the team. But then she zoomed in on some people being led out into the exercise yard. She grabbed Emil and took him around to the other side of the building so they could get a better view of the events.

"Oh my god, Emil. I can see Ollie, AC, Bart and Dinah, and there's Clark. They look as though they are being lined up for something." Then she saw the guards with rifles lining up in front of the five of them.

The five team members were blindfolded and led to the outside of the jail. They had a plan. Dinah was going to use her noise to deafen the guards whilst Bart untied all their binds. However they did not have a chance to action it before all hell broke loose.

All they heard was groans and moans of people falling to the floor in distress. There were screams of confusion then gunshots. Clark felt someone untie him from behind. His blindfold was taken off to reveal piles of guards piled in heaps in front of him. He then turned around to see the last person he expected to see.

"Lois." His face then lit up as he hugged her tightly. They both untied the rest of the team.

"It's not safe here." Clark grabbed her hand to lead her away but she stopped him.

"Don't worry about me." She replied.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out and Lois turned to see a bullet heading towards Ollie. She intercepted and then took out the offending gun with her heat vision. The guard passed out from shock.

"What the hell?" Ollie looked at her.

"Can we talk about this back at the plane?" She said as she grabbed Dinah and sped off, seconds later she returned to grab the others one by one, until they were all safe on the jet.

"Let's get out of here." She said to the five of them, who were all looking at her with gaping mouths.

Clark went to sit next to her. "When did you get back?" he asked.

"Yesterday!" she replied.

"is the baby ok?" He whispered so the others didn't hear.

"Yeah the baby is fine. How else do you think I have my powers." She smiled.

Oliver came to join them. "So Lois, how did you get powers all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Jor-el gave them to me when he took them off Clark and told me where to find him." Lois announced, deciding it was safer to lie than tell anyone the truth about her time travelling.

Lois knew she would be moving on soon. Jor-el had told Emil to tell her why and the realisation had hit her. She needed to let go and allow history advance as closely as possible to the original timeline. Major changes just seemed to screw up the future.

It had been agreed that she would stay a few days to ensure Clark was safe. It was made slightly easier by the fact Jor-el had made it clear to his son that she needed to jump back to 2012 and that she could not give him any clues to future events.

Lois cuddled into Clark and was soon fast asleep. She could have flown back but just wanted to be with him.

When they landed, Oliver and Clark headed off to Montana Creek Research facility before Lois woke up. Emil told them it was best to let her sleep and that he wanted to run some tests on her to see if her body was coping with superpowers.

After Oliver and Clark had left. "You can wake up now." He smiled at Lois.

"I hate knowing that Clark is going to be pierced through the heart by an arrow."

"You know you can't intervene. You know what will happen if you do." Emil explained.

She headed back to the farm to wait for Clark to return with Jonn. As predicted Clark arrived back at 4pm. She turned to see him come in the door. His tee was covered in blood from his injuries.

"Are you ok?" she hugged him.

"Yeah I am, so is Chloe." He smiled. "I have my powers back."

"I know you do." She winked, explaining why she could not go with him.

He kissed her. "So how long will be here for?" he asked.

"A few days then I need to leave, so let's make the most of it. You need to get ready to start at the Daily Planet on Monday." Lois grinned.

"Ok, but I did have other plans." He said as he scooped her up and carried her up to the bedroom.

They were woken next morning by the sound of his parents arriving. "Were you expecting them?" Lois asked Clark.

"No I wasn't. I rang them yesterday to let them know I was ok."

Clark went downstairs. "Mom, dad." He hugged them.

"Are you ok?" his mom asked as she ran her finger through his hair as though she was checking he was in one piece.

"I'm fine. It was a bit of a rough ride but I have my powers back." He smiled.

Jonathan heard a noise. "Have you got a visitor?"

"Yeah it's Lois."

Martha smiled. "I take it you and Lois are getting back on track."

"Mom, it's future Lois. She jumped into this time a few days ago." Clark explained.  
"Oh I see." She replied. "Why did she jump to this moment in time?"

"She helped to save me."

"How?" Jonathan asked.  
"She has my powers." Clark said, realising he had revealed too much. Lois and he had decided not to tell anyone about the pregnancy as she would be jumping in the next few days.

"How did that happen?" Martha asked.

"We have no idea. Guess it has something to do with time travel." Lois replied as she came down the stairs. She hugged his parents.

There was a knock at the door. It was Chloe with the biggest grin on her face. "Hi guys."

"Hi Mr and Mrs Kent." She said cheerily unaware that Lois knew about Clark's powers.

"I never got the chance to tell you yesterday but I want to share the news. Jimmy and I are getting married."

Clark was thrilled and hugged her. Lois acted excited but something held her back. As she hugged Chloe, she noticed Jonathan. He had lived and history had still proceeded generally as it should have done.

So why wouldn't it work again...

Lois went to bed that evening unable to stop the flashbacks engulfing her mind. Three years ago, on September 26th 2009, Chloe had told her the devastating news about Jimmy's murder at the hands of that Kryptonian engineered monster. The haunting look of despair on her cousin's face would be etched on her mind forever, but now...she had a chance to stop that happening. However much Lois told herself that she could not change history, the overwhelming urge to prevent the inevitable kept surfacing in her mind.

She eventually fell asleep but spent the night tossing and turning.

"Lois, wake up. You are crying. What's wrong." he rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks to dry the tears.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Just ignore me, Clark. It was just a nightmare. I think this pregnancy is giving me vivid dreams." She made excuses.

"What about?" he probed.

"I can't...remember." she replied, obviously badly affected by her dream.

Clark was sure she was hiding something but did not want to push her.

Next morning, Lois drove into Metropolis the next morning with Clark for his first day on the job. She arranged to meet Chloe for lunch to see how it was going. Clark was at a new staff induction all day so she had plenty of time to catch up. "Hi cuz." she smiled, trying to hide her worries.

"Hi Lo. How are you? You look rough. Did you not sleep well?" Chloe exclaimed.

"Something like that." Lois muttered before changing the subject. "So when are you getting married?"

"It will probably be a long engagement. We cannot afford one at the moment."

They were just walking back to the Planet after lunch when a loud explosion rang out through the streets. They turned the corner to see a bus on fire. Lois knew Clark would appear anytime to rescue Tess and other people. She noticed him appear at lightning speed then peeling back the outer shell of the bus. She shook her head at how open he was with his powers all those years ago and wondered how he had never been noticed before.

Next thing she saw him carrying Tess along the street to get medical assistance for her. Meanwhile Lois turned around to see Chloe seeking help for a young girl – who Lois recognised as Plastique, one of the suicide squad. Then she noticed the paramedic tending to the injured – Davis Bloome.

Lois watched from a distance and waited for her cousin to come back. "Are you ok?" she asked Chloe.

"Yeah fine. The girl should be fine. That was one cute paramedic wasn't it?" Chloe sniggered.

Lois took a deep breath. "If you say so. Listen if you don't mind I will head back to the Planet now to see what is happening."

When Lois arrived, she noticed Clark was covered in black soot from the remnants of the explosion. "Smallville, how did you never get noticed?"

"That's a good sign, Lois. You asked that question in the past tense so obviously I am quite successful at not being spotted." he smiled, winding her up.

Randall interrupted their conversation. "Kent, Ms Mercer wants to see you."

Lois looked at him. "Good luck, you'll need it." she smirked.

He reappeared an hour later with that fed up look on his face. "You know what she is like, don't you. Please don't tell me she features in our futures." he shook his head.

Lois touched her nose. "Clark, you know I am under strict instructions not to divulge anything."

He laughed. "Pity you are not always that quiet." She looked at him and playfully punched him in the arm. "Anyway we need to go to the hospital. Ms Mercer wants us to interview some of the injured people to see if we can get any ideas about what caused the incident."

Lois and Clark drove downtown to Met Gen. Chloe was in the waiting room sitting with Bette and Davis. "Hi guys." she said getting up to see what they were doing here.

Lois decided not to get involved and was soon distracted by the familiar sight of Emil, bandaging up a patient at the other side of the waiting room.

"Emil." she got his attention as soon as she was finished. "What are you doing here?"

"I knew the explosion would be happening so I volunteered to help as I did in the original timeline, I might add. You...you look dreadful."

"Is there an echo in here." lois replied. "Everyone is saying that to me today. I didn't sleep very well. I keep having nightmares about what happens in the future, pointing at Chloe at the same time.

"Tell me about it. I have had to work with our evil villain in question all morning and not be able to do anything about it. He replied, noting the look on her face. "Lois, I hope you are not planning anything."

She looked at him. "Would it really be that bad, Emi?. I mean Jonathan lived and everything has been fine since history changed."

"Lois, we don't know that. We have not travelled back to 2012 yet."

"I hope we jump soon because I cannot look Chloe in the face for much longer without saying anything."

Lois made an excuse and headed back to the farm. Clark noticed how quiet she was over dinner but could not find out why. He knew it probably had something to do with the future. It worried him.

"I am going to have an early night." Lois kissed him as they sat watching a DVD.

"I will be up soon." he smiled.

Again she tossed and turned, the dreams never let up. She knew she had to act. Her eyes flung open... It took a while to readjust to her surroundings but then she realised she was somewhere knew, and going by the wedding ring on her finger, it was post 2011. Her mind was all scrambled, except for one thing. Whatever time she was in, it was too late to save Jimmy...

The first things Lois noticed about the room were the bottle of very expensive champagne sitting on the bed side table and the size of the room.

"Lois, I won't be long. Why not have some more champagne but not too much?" Clark shouted from what looked like the bathroom. She listened more carefully and could hear the sound of the shower. "Who's idea was it to get the strawberries and cream?" he laughed.

Lois lay back down. She felt a pang of jealousy about what Clark and the other Lois had been up to but then remembered that the memories would come back to her soon enough and they were so vivid that she would feel as though she had experienced them. Oddly though, they were taking a longer time than normal to come back.

She noticed an alarm clock on the bedside table so she pressed the date button. It was the 20th November 2009. She looked again at her engagement and wedding ring and wondered if they were undercover somewhere.

Clark was soon appeared with a towel wrapped round his waist. He climbed back into bed. "Lo, are you ok? You look in shock." He asked with concern.

"Where are we?"

"We're in the Renaissance Hotel in Paris." He paused, studying her face. "Oh my god, you're back." He hugged her tightly. "When did you..."

She interrupted him. "Just a few minutes ago but the problem is that my memories are still fuzzy. I wonder if it has something to do with jumping whilst I was asleep."

He smiled. "Yeah it was awkward explaining to the other Lois what I was doing in bed with her after you jumped."

"I bet she slapped you." Lois replied.

He nodded. "You know yourself so well, Lo. So what are you doing interrupting our honeymoon."

"Our honeymoon? This is an undercover story isn't it?" she asked.

He grinned. "Yeah we have definitely been under the covers and on them. I know you said we would not get married until 2011 but something must have altered history because it seemed like the normal and right thing to do."

The memories came:

_After Lois jumped, Clark and original Lois carried on dating. His parents had remained in DC where his dad was made Senator again. Lana is still searching for Lex and she was still trying to cause trouble for Clark. When Clark jumped used the Legion Ring to jump back after his run-in with Linda Lake, he decided not to hit the reset button and told Lois his secret again, however he did not go public. Telling her made them grow closer until Clark proposed a few months ago after his showdown with Doomsday. They got married a few days ago in Smallville with all their family present. Her father had booked them this hotel as a wedding present. She remembered how upset Chloe had been about Jimmy at the wedding because she had lost him._

That's where the memories stopped, there seemed to be gaping holes in them. She needed to ask Clark some questions.

"I have just had a flashback about you telling me your secret, our wedding and Chloe being upset. Is Chloe ok now? I don't seem to have any memories of what happened after that."

"She is fine. Oliver said he would look after her." Clark explained. "I think she was sad because it reminded her that Jimmy left her before their wedding."

"He left her..." Lois asked incredulous.

"Yeah...at Christmas because he thought she was having an affair with Davis Bloome."

"Was she?" Lois asked.

"No, she was protecting me by pretending to go out with him."

"In my timeline, Davis killed Jimmy after you separated him from Doomsday."

"Davis did try to kill Chloe when we separated him. Luckily we know from the get-go not to trust him. If you hadn't told me about Davis, I would never have known and Chloe or Jimmy may have been dead."

Lois stared at him. "Clark, I never told you. I was going to tell you the morning I jumped but I was gone before I could."

He smiled. "There was no need to tell me. You were crying out in your sleep about Davis being a Kryptonian monster."

Lois's face lit up. "So is there no hope for Chloe and Jimmy."

"No, I don't think so. Jimmy got offered a job at the New York Post so moved for a fresh start." Clark explained.

"So what about us? What is the original Lois like? I have to admit I am slightly jealous."

"Lois, you are Lois, no matter which timeline, or year you are in. She is still you and you do have the memories." He remarked.

"Maybe we should make some new memories." She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him down on the bed.

"This pregnancy is really making you..."

Before he had a chance to finish she placed her fingers on his lips. "Shut up, Clark."

Hours later, Lois woke up. "Clark, why didn't you wake me up?" She said when she saw him sitting up in bed wide awake.

"You are gorgeous when you are asleep." He smiled. "You always sleep well."

Lois suddenly remembered something. "I bet Lois hasn't been after having those horrific flashbacks from her recent 3 weeks into the future?"

Clark looked puzzled. "What future?"

"Lois travelled one year into the future on the day Doomsday was killed didn't' she? She saw what Zod was going to do in the future."

"Zod? Lois, I sent him to the Phantom Zone years ago when I separated him from Lex. You don't have to worry about him."

Lois looked at him. "Clark, believe me, we do have to worry."


	13. Chapter 13

"Actually now I think about it, I have memories of Zod. I think Lois saw him a few weeks ago with Tess at the Luthor Mansion." Lois explained.

"I'm confused. How did Zod escape from the Phantom Zone?"

"This is not General Zod who you banished. Your father cloned some Kandorians and placed them in an orb. It was part of an experiment to preserve the Kryptonian race in the event of Krypton's destruction. Tess got the orb and unleashed them on Earth about 2 months ago. One of the clones is Major Zod, a younger version but just as ruthless."

"So why did Tess release them and do they have powers?"

"Tess did not know what she was unleashing, and they did not come with powers as Jor-el took them off them. However in the original timeline Zod got his powers when you gave him some of your blood to save his life. Then he gave it to the rest of the soldiers." Lois replied.

"So we need to make sure I do not give him any of my blood."

"That would work, but there is a back up plan if we need it. I won't go into it yet as we have the advantage at the moment as he probably does not know who the Blur is yet." Lois explained.

"so what do we do?"

"First we cancel the honeymoon. I just hope your wife is not too disappointed to find her honeymoon cancelled when I jump. We also need to find out why I jumped. I can only assume Jor-el is bouncing me around through time to rectify all the history I have screwed up along the way." Lois smiled.

"I'm sure he knows that you didn't mean to do it."

"It's just because his son is so irresistible no matter what time he is in." She kissed him. "What time is it?"

"It's 4pm." Clark replied.

"So it will be 9am in Kansas. We need to get to Watchtower. Do you want to take the luggage.?" she asked as she packed.

He grabbed it and they flew back together. He still could not get used to his wife being able to fly.

They landed at Watchtower. "Am I cleared for this?"

"Yes..."

Lois climbed into the lift and they travelled up to Watchtower.

Chloe was tapping on the keyboard as usual whilst Oliver was making breakfast. What was surprising was the fact he was walking around in boxer shorts.

"I didn't know they had changed the dress code." Clark sped in, putting Lois down.

Oliver and Chloe both blushed and he started making a dash for his clothes. "I just took a shower."

"Sure you did." Lois smirked.

"What are you doing back from Paris. You only went yesterday." Chloe asked.

"We have a problem." Lois headed towards the computer and logged into the Daily Planet story from Tess's party last week at the mansion. She zoomed in on one particular guest. "This is Major Zod. He is a Kryptonian clone of General Zod."

She continued. "His only mission on Earth is to rule it. He has no powers at the moment but he will stop at nothing to get them."

Chloe and Oliver just stared at Lois. "How do you know this?" Ollie asked.

"It's complicated. You just have to trust me on this one."

"Where I have heard that one before Lois. Why are you so cagey about your sources?" he asked.

Clark intervened. "Can we just leave it, Oliver? I know it is asking a lot but you need to trust Lois."

Chloe was puzzled by the shroud of secrecy. "Ok..."

Just then the doors opened. "Hi..."

"Emil!" Lois hugged him. "Are you back?"

"I'm back." He whispered.

"We have a problem. I guess Lois has filled you in on Zod and his presence here. Well it seems the hospital had a break in last week and it seems the only thing missing was a vial of unlabelled blood."

"It was mine, wasn't it?" Clark panicked.

"I believe so."

"But how did Zod know?"

"I still don't think Zod knows your identity. I think our mystery thief was Tess, although there is no security footage to prove it. I think she will use it as a bargaining chip if Zod turns against her." Emil explained.

"She is such a *****." Chloe remarked.

Lois noticed the look of hurt on Emil's face but knew she could not say anything.

"I think she is just misunderstood." Lois replied cryptically. "Anyway we need to get the vial back before Zod gets his hands on it."

Clark and Lois headed back to Smallville to discuss their plans.

"Clark, if Zod gets his powers, you have to watch Chloe. In the original timeline, she and Oliver stockpiled green kryptonite to take out the Kandorians."

"That must have affected our relationship." Clark was surprised.

"Yes it did, and it took a long time to mend it."

"So what did I do in the original timeline?"

"You tried to help the Kandorians integrate into our society and it would have worked if Zod had not interfered."

"Well we will have to see what Emil can achieve when he goes to see Tess. It is odd he volunteered. Does he even know her? Oliver would maybe have been a better choice going by his history with her."

"I think Chloe would be jealous."

"Do you really think there is something going on between them?" Clark asked innocently.

"You are still really naive at times, Smallville." She punched him playfully on the arm.

He smiled and then winked. "Race you upstairs. Just because we cancelled the honeymoon, doesn't mean..."

They sped upstairs...

Emil was shown into the large library of the Luthor Mansion by one of the burly security guards. He laughed to himself when he saw these tough looking men, who were supposedly making sure no one entered the mansion without permission. Clark seemed to walk in and out over the years without being questioned, although he did have the advantage of super speed.

As soon as he entered the room, he noticed the chair behind the desk turn around revealing Tess. It was not until he saw her that he realised how much he had missed her. He had to stop himself running over to kiss her, knowing her reaction would be to slap him.

"Dr Hamilton, what can I do for you." She stayed sitting behind the desk and her voice was cold and formal.

"Ms Mercer. I am here on business. You will probably know that I worked with Lionel Luthor on the Kawatche Caves." Emil smiled, trying to break the tough shell surrounding his future wife.

"Last thing I heard, the caves were handed back to the native American Indians."

"I know but I am here in the hope of sparking your interest in some research I am doing."

"But you work for Oliver Queen – one of the richest people in this country, so why would you ask Luthorcorp for help." Tess replied.

"To be brutally honest, Mr Queen thinks I am insane when I told him what I want to research. Having spent time in Smallville when I was dating Lois Lane, my interest in...should I say...extra terrestrial life was fired up."

"So what exactly do you need...money?"

Emil shook his head. "No, I was wondering if I could have access to Luthor files. I believe Lex was very interested in aliens years ago."

"What is there in it for me?" Tess asked.

"Nothing really. I mean if you don't want to help me out, I will go and ask Lana to help me."

"But you can't. She is in Paris trying to convince the Louvre they want to part with some of their classic paintings."

"So she is throwing the Luthor money around." Emil laughed.

"It would seem that way. She claims it is her way of coping with the disappearance of her husband."

"Or it could just be she was after Lex's money all this time and did not love him."

Suddenly Tess opened up. "I worshipped Lex. He gave me a chance when no one else would. I hate Lana for what she is doing." Tess clamped up all of a sudden realising she was starting to open up too much.

"Look, why don't you come out for dinner with me tonight and we can talk further about my research."

Tess looked at him. "Dr Hamilton...I don't think that will be such a good idea."

"That's a shame because I had made reservations at Chez Vous." He smiled knowing she would never turn down the chance to dine at her favourite French restaurant in Metropolis.

Her eyes lit up. "Ok...but I will meet you there."

Emil left the room, passing a very familiar face on the way out...Zod. He was walking around as though he owned the place with that evil sneer on his face.

Later that evening, Emil waited excitedly outside the restaurant. He had never dated Tess before they got together. That crazy party for Lois and Clark with the laced Champagne had led to their first night together and after that there had been no looking back.

A limo pulled up and Tess got out with one of her bodyguards.

"Ms Mercer." He took her hand and kissed it.

"Hello, Dr Hamilton."

"Call me Emil please and can I say how unbelievable beautiful you look in that dress." He replied, making her blush. He had known Tess long enough to know what she liked to hear, but this was still not the Tess he knew. There were still too many barriers in the way.

They entered, closely followed by the bodyguard. The waiter showed them to a quiet corner, well away from the other guests. The burly man stood next to the table, making Emil feel very uncomfortable.

"Tess, do we really need the chaperon? I am not some serial killer or axe murderer." Emil joked.

"It's Ms Mercer...thank you. And he stays." She replied in a business like fashion.

"So to business. I will not beat around the bush. I believe there are aliens amongst us. I used to think Amanda Waller was crazy but I think she has a point."

The mention of her Waller's name made Tess squirm in her seat. She signalled for the bodyguard to leave them alone.

"What do you know about Waller?" Tess asked.

"Not much really, just that she seems to spend all her time trying investigate the possibility that aliens are about to invade Earth."

"Is that what you believe?" Tess asked.

"I believe there are intergalactic travellers here but I am not sure whether their intentions are necessarily bad."

"What proof do you have?" she inquired further.

"Just stories I have heard, nothing concrete. There is one incident that happened recently that worries me." Emil added. "There was a blood sample stolen from Smallville Hospital last week which may have alien origins."

Tess could not hide her surprise at the mention of the subject. "Why are you telling me this?"

Emil decided to push her. "Because I was on duty the night it was taken and I saw you leaving." He lied.

Tess panicked. "Don't be silly..."

"Tess, the security cameras may not have been working but there is nothing wrong with my eyes." He smiled.

She leaned forward on to the table. "Emil, what do you want from me?"

He looked at her. "I need that blood back."

"I can't. It is too risky." She replied, worried.

"Why is it risky?"

"I am worried someone gets his hands on it."

"By someone you mean your uninvited guest at the mansion, don't you?" Emil stated, waiting for a reply...

"Which guest?" Tess tried to act surprised.

"Zod, or is it Mr Zod. He is bad news Tess and you need to be careful."

Emil could see how scared Tess was deep down but she was putting on a brave face.

"Zod is just a friend who is passing through town."

"No Tess, he is a clone. You released him and the rest of the Kandorians from the Orb including that bodyguard over there. If Zod gets his hands on that blood, you know his power will be immeasurable."

"How...how do you know all this?" she stuttered.

"All you need to know is that he is bad news. Most of the Kandorians are peaceful people but under his guidance they will join him to raze this planet. It is your choice Tess. Work with us and we can beat him."

"Who is us?"

"You don't need to know that at the moment. I won't let him hurt you, I promise." Emil said sincerely.

Tess weighed him up for a second. "You mean that, don't you. But...why me? You don't even know me."  
"Tess, I can see the real Tess Mercer bears no relation to the hard case who fronts Luthorcorp."

She smiled. "Give me time to think about your offer. Meanwhile, can we order? I'm hungry."  
For the next two hours, Emil opened up about his first wife and how she died. Tess hung on his every word and even managed to drop some barriers of her own albeit temporarily.

"Can I see you again, Tess?"

"I will come and see you at the hospital tomorrow when I decide what I am doing." She announced sharpily.

Emil headed back to Watchtower. He did not realise he was singing as he entered the headquarters.

"Someone is happy!" Lois smiled. "Guess your date with Tess went well."

"Date, how did you know?" Emil asked.

"I ran downtown to check on you and saw you going into that posh French place. How did it go?"

"I told her that Zod was bad news and we needed the blood back."

Chloe overheard. "You have just weakened any ammunition we have against Zod. Tess cannot be trusted. She will tell him and give him the blood now." She snapped.

"Chloe! That was uncalled for." Lois defended him. "We need to work together on this."

Chloe glared at Emil. "I am going to tell Oliver." She stormed out.

Lois looked concerned. "What is the betting that she has been stockpiling kryptonite already? I will talk to her tomorrow. I am going to head back to the farm now. Clark is cooking me dinner."

Lois sped home. "Hi Clark.

"Just in time, Lois. It's ready. I don't suppose your cooking skills have improved in the future."

She pouted her lips. "Actually your mom has given me quite a few lessons. She always liked it when I popped round after your dad..." she stopped and looked at Clark in panic hoping he had not picked up on it.

"After dad...what? Clark asked.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter."

"It does matter. I need to know if my dad is going to die soon. How can you keep that from me? I don't care about the timeline. Saving Jimmy has been ok."

Lois went over and gestured for him to sit down. "In the original timeline, your dad died at the beginning of 2006."

"You mean it has changed. How?" Clark calmed down but still wanted to know.

"It was a heart attack and you blamed yourself for years."

"His heart is not 100%, it could still happen." Clark was worried.

"I think he knows to take it easy now. I talked to Emil about it and he says your dad is on the best treatment possible and his heart is stable. As a senator, he gets more regular check- ups as well. Try not to worry."

Clark leant over and kissed her. "How did it take me five years to get with you in the original timeline. I must have been so blind."

"I know." She laughed. "Changing the subject..." She went on to tell him about the fight between Emil and Chloe.

"I don't know what to do unless we blow your cover." Clark replied.

"I will go and talk to her tomorrow and see if she will listen to her cousin."

"Ok..."

Next morning, Lois texted Chloe and asked for her to meet her for coffee before work. When her cousin arrived, Lois could see her preoccupation. "Chloe, what is wrong?"

"I think Clark and Emil need to take this Zod threat a little more seriously. Last thing this planet needs is lots of super powered Clarks running around without his morals."

"Clark and Emil are taking it seriously. Is there something else you're not telling me?" Lois asked.

"Like what?" Chloe asked in an unconvincing manner.

"I am sure you are holding something back. We have to remember if Tess gives us the blood back, Zod cannot get his powers." Lois replied.

"And when did you sign on for the Tess Appreciation Society because all you have done is defend her for the past few days."

"I'm not. I just don't think that she is the baddie everyone thinks she is."

"I need to head back to Watchtower if you don't mind. I have to save the planet." Chloe announced sarcastically.  
Lois went with her to see if Emil but they walked right into a disagreement between Oliver and Emil.

Ollie was shouting. He had not noticed their arrival. "There is no other way, we have to be prepared."

Lois never heard any more of the conversation. Her head felt like it was spinning and her world went black...


	14. Chapter 14

Emil saw Lois collapse out of the corner of his eye. He rushed to her side, joining Chloe who was in a blind panic.

"Oliver, get rid of the kryptonite now." He shouted, leaving Oliver in no doubt that he meant it.

Oliver did as he asked and put the stash back in the lead line case. "What's wrong with her?"

"She is being affected by the meteor rock. It could harm the baby."

Chloe looked up at him. "Baby? She's pregnant."

"Yeah about 8-9 weeks and the baby has inherited her father's allergy to all green meteor rock. Can you help me get her on the chair?" They all picked her up and placed her gently on the sofa.

"She will come around in the next few minutes. Oliver, could you destroy that rock, for Lois and her baby's sake. There are other ways to deal with Zod if needed." Emil explained. Oliver left with the box.

Lois groaned and started moving around. Her eyes opened part way. "God, I feel like I have been run over by a truck. Now I know what Clark feels like."

Chloe pushed the hair out of her cousin's eyes. "Are you ok? I'm sorry but we had no idea that you were pregnant. Is it congratulations? How long have you known?"

Lois looked at Emil for guidance. "A while? Clark and I are thrilled."

Their conversation was interrupted by Emil's cell ringing. He answered, pausing for a while to take in the information. "How do you know? Are you sure? I will come and get you."

He looked at Lois. "Tess is in trouble. Zod is fully powered. He stole the blood from her safe and used it." I am going to get her and bring her back."

Chloe stood between Emil and the door. "Tess is not coming back here. She has set you a trap and you are walking right into it."

Lois ignored Chloe. "Let's go and get her." They sped out of the room.

Minutes later they were standing outside the mansion grounds. "I'll go for her. You stay here." Emil told her.

"Shout up if you need help. I will be tuned in." She smiled.

With no security on the door, Emil entered the library where Tess said she would be waiting. She had a fearful look on her face. "Where is he?" He mouthed at her.

"He has gone to meet up with the other Kandorians. They will all have their powers within hours. We need to act, but I don't know what to do. I didn't mean for him to get his powers. You have to believe me." Tess replied.

Just then, one of the kandorians acting as a security guard burst through the door. "Ms Mercer, I have a message for you." He pulled out a gun.

The next few seconds were a blur for Tess and Emil as they found themselves standing in the lift at Watchtower. Lois was nowhere in sight, in case Tess saw her. The elevator would not operate as it had detected Tess's presence.

Emil pressed the intercom. "Chloe, please let us come up. We need to work together to take Zod out. I will not let him kill Tess." He begged her to listen, much to the puzzlement on Tess's face.

Nothing happened for a few seconds; there was silence. Then they started to move, until they reached Watchtower.

Tess walked through the doors, taking in the awe of the place. "So this is Watchtower. This is amazing."

Chloe was fuming. She glared at Emil. "Can I have a word in private?" she dragged Emil upstairs. "No touching anything, Tess. It is all alarmed."

"Emil, what is going on here? There is something going on between you and Lois and we are definitely out of the loop." Chloe asked.

"I love Tess. I have been watching her from a distance and I have fallen for her. I am not going to let that monster hurt her." Emil explained, emotion evident in his voice.

Chloe looked at him. "Well, I suppose we can't tell who we are going to fall in love with."

"Tess knew about Watchtower anyway but she still does not know where it is, because Lois sped us here and Tess assumes it was Clark." Emil smiled.

"Where is Lois?"

"I have no idea, maybe she has gone to see Clark. She is like Speedy Gonzalez. Who would have thought that she would get Clark's powers via the baby."

Chloe smiled, but then turned serious. "One wrong move and Tess gets kicked out of the club."

"I will keep her in line, I promise."

Meanwhile Lois left the caves after her talk with Jor-el. He had answered her questions, so she headed to the east coast for the next part of her mission.

Martha and Jonathan were having brunch when her cell bleeped. Martha sent a message back.

"It is from Lois." Martha remarked. "She wants to know exactly where we are."

"That's odd. I wonder why?"

"I'll tell you. Can I join you?" Lois smiled, as she stood next to the table. They both jumped up and hugged her.

"What are you doing here? You only got married a few days ago." Martha asked. "Where is Clark? I thought you two were in Paris."

"We were. I jumped into present day Lois." She said quietly so people on next table would not hear.

"Is there a problem?" Jonathan asked. "Why have you come to this time? I thought you would be back in 2012 by now."

"Zod is here." She said as she explained everything that happened.

"Is there anything we can do?" Martha asked.

"I am hoping you can help me get rid of Zod from Earth as it seems he is fully powered." Lois explained.

Jonathan and Martha sat confused, wondering what they could do.

"Martha, when Lionel died a few years ago, did he leave you some kryptonian artefact?." Lois asked.

"Yes, we have them in safekeeping in a safety deposit box." Jonathan interjected. "What did you need?"

"It is called the Book of Rao. In the original timeline it was hidden at the farm but it is not there. I was hoping it would be amongst the artifacts. It is a small hexagonal metal object."

"Yes, it is there. Lionel could never find out what it was for." Martha replied.

"It takes all the Kryptonians to another plane of existence, a new world." Lois waited for their reaction.

Jonathan's face registered it first. "That means Clark will be forced to leave as well. How will he get back?"

"There is no way back, but I have a plan to stop him going." Lois smiled.

Martha was reassured. "Ok, we better head across town."

"There is no need. I can run there." Lois smiled. "I have something to tell you both."

"You're pregnant, aren't you." Martha guessed. "How far gone are you?"

"About five years." Lois laughed. "I got pregnant 5 years ago and the baby has been jumping with me. I didn't think Clark and Lois could cope with a baby as teenagers and I wanted to keep it with me. I am actually only 9 weeks gone but it seems I have got powers from the fetus."

Jonathan looked at her and grinned like a chesire cat. "That is hard to get your head around, but we are thrilled."

Martha hugged her again, but gently this time. "I guess we will have to wait a few years to see our grandchild because you will be jumping again, won't you?."

"Yes, I will be but I know you will make the best grandparents now or in three years. This There is something else you need to know." She explained cryptically.

Clark arrived at Watchtower, surprised to see Tess there. "What's going on?" he asked. "Has anyone seen Lois?"

Emil piped up. "She is on her way here. She needs to talk to us about a plan."

"Tess, I am surprised to see you here. " Clark smiled.

"Not as much as I was." Oliver replied.

"Tess, would you mind staying here whilst I have a word with the others." Clark asked, leaving her on the sofa.

Once out of ear shot, Clark delivered the news. "The Fortress has been damaged by the Kandorians. They have started a war and we need to deal with it. Now I know you have been stockpiling Kryptonite. It may be the only weapon we have against them." Clark announced, shocking everyone with this suggestion.

"But how do we get all the kandorians in one place?" Oliver asked.

"I haven't worked that out yet? Emil, where is Lois?"

"I'm here." Lois burst in.

"Where have you been?" Clark kissed her. "Are you and the baby ok?" he whispered.

"Now let's get down to business. Clark, we need to get to the Crow's Nest as soon as possible before Zod has the chance to cause trouble. I will explain when we get there."

Lois went up to Chloe. "I love you, Chlo." She then went over to Oliver and hugged him.

Emil came over to her. She smiled. "Thanks Emil for agreeing to do this." She whispered.

He looked over at Tess. "It is not exactly a hardship."

Before Chloe or Oliver could ask any more questions, she grabbed hold of Clark. "Let's go."

Lois and Clark arrived on top of the building.

"What's going on, Lo?"

She pulled out the Book of Rao from her pocket and showed it to him. "This will send all kryptonians to a new world."

He looked at her. "But that includes me, Lo."

"Trust me, you're staying on Earth." She was going to tell him how but they were interrupted by the arrival of Zod.

"Kal-el, I believe. So you're the son of my greatest nemesis." He sneered.

Clark stepped in front of Lois to protect her. "Jor-el was your friend before you betrayed."

"I wish you had been there when I killed your father. He called out for you as he died."

"What do you mean?" Clark panicked.

"Jor-el arrived on Earth with us, but he refused to work with the rest of his people to conquer this pathetic planet."

"I am not going to let that happen." Clark announced decisively.

"I will kill you in a moment, Kal-el but first I am going to take away the thing which is most important to you...whilst you watch." Zod turned his attention to Lois. His eyes started to glow.

Lois matched his firepower

"What the hell?" Zod shouted at the sight of Lois using heat vision.

Lois looked at Clark who was heading towards Zod. "Clark, trust me! Do it." She signalled for him to put the key in the console, and then she zoomed into the sky. She knew Zod would not shy away from a fight or at least that was what she was counting on.

She turned back to see the console light up below her and then she was hit by the familiar sensation. She was jumping again...

June 26th 2012

The Kent Farm was a hive of activity. Chloe was in full planning organisation mode, singing as she went around hanging up the decorations and balloons.

Martha smiled. "How does it feel to be celebrating your second wedding anniversary?"

Chloe looked across at Oliver. "I can't believe it has been that long. You know what they say about time flying when you're having fun."

Jonathan came over. "Where do you want the cake, Chloe?"

"Over by the window." She smiled. "Don't let Tess near it, or there won't be any left. She keeps telling me she is eating for two but I am convinced there must be sextuplets in there somewhere."

"I hear you got a card from the Luthor's." Martha asked.

"Yeah, it does worry me. Lex may be suffering from amnesia since he turned up from the dead but once a Luthor, always a Luthor. Lana is definitely more Luthor than Lang these days." Chloe suggested before she realised Tess had heard everything.

"Sorry Tess, I didn't mean it. Present company accepted!" Chloe hugged her and then turned to Emil.

"How are things?" Emil asked. "I am sorry for being late. Tess wanted to buy some pickled eggs and we drove around three towns looking for them. Pregnancy cravings are just the most inconvenient things ever."

Tess laughed. "Well you married me."

Oliver interrupted. "I still can't believe you got married in Vegas the weekend after you starting dating and dressed as Elvis and Priscilla as well."

The door bell rang. It was Jimmy and Pete. "Hi guys." Chloe said, welcoming them both in.

Jimmy had returned to the Daily Planet the previous year but luckily there had been no hard feelings with Chloe. It had not taken long for Cat to get her claws into him. Chloe had to admit that they made a cute couple, and Jimmy was the doting step father.

"Where's Cat?" Chloe asked.

"She has gone to pick a present for the birthday boy with Adam." He replied.

"I don't know where they are?" Chloe asked looking at her watch.

"They are picking him up from day-care. They have probably been held up." Martha explained.

Just then the door opened. Matthew walked in with his parents, his eyes lighting up when he saw all the balloons, streamers and presents.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted.

Matthew looked overwhelmed. Clark noticed and picked up his son. "It's all for you!" he kissed him on the forehead.

He soon wanted his dad to put him down and raced off to begin unwrapping his presents with Martha, Jonathan and Sam.

Clark looked at Lois. "Can't believe he is two! Where has my little baby gone?"

"He would still be a baby if we hadn't only jumped for a week three years ago. You're the one who decided to stay in 2009 with me." He whispered

"Best decision I ever made." She said, as she looked around the room at her family and friends. Things had not gone back to how she had left them in the original 2012, but she didn't care.

That was past history and at the moment, life could not get better.

THE END

(Thanks for reading this rollercoaster ride of a story)


End file.
